राम

Harivaṃśa-parva

Harivaṃśa · Adhyāya 35

74 versesThe War Begins

Synopsis

The battle between devas and asuras opens in earnest, each side seeking victory over the other. The one who is the essence of every god and every dharma, Viṣṇu Lord of the Gods, upholds the devas by his radiance. A philosophical aside on brahmacarya as the root of brahmin-hood is folded in. The chapter closes with a dramatic proposal from a dānava to Śakra: "Give me as ally the one born of water, the Moon, so that together with him and with the seaserpents of the ocean I may destroy this illusion."

First-pass synopsis; pending review by a Sanskritist.

Verse 1

स्वस्ति दैत्येभ्य इति चाप्य् उशना वाक्यम् आददे ताभ्यां बलाभ्यां संजज्ञे तुमुलो विग्रहस् तदा सुराणाम् असुराणां च परस्परजयैषिणाम्

svasti daityebhya iti cāpy uśanā vākyam ādade tābhyāṃ balābhyāṃ saṃjajñe tumulo vigrahas tadā surāṇām asurāṇāṃ ca parasparajayaiṣiṇām

And Uśanas took up the word, 'Svasti to the daityas.' Between these two hosts arose a tumultuous fight — of gods and asuras, each seeking the other's defeat.

Verse 2

सर्वदेवमयो यस् तु सर्वधर्ममयस् तु यः तस्य विष्णोः सुरेशस्य तेजसा विधृताः सुराः सबलाः सानुगाश् चैव त्रिदशाश् च मदोत्कटाः प्रहर्तुं दानवं सैन्यं तरसा हि समभ्ययुः दानवा दैवतैः सार्धं नानाप्रहरणोद्यताः समीयुर् युध्यमाना वै पर्वता इव पर्वतैः

sarvadevamayo yas tu sarvadharmamayas tu yaḥ tasya viṣṇoḥ sureśasya tejasā vidhṛtāḥ surāḥ sabalāḥ sānugāś caiva tridaśāś ca madotkaṭāḥ prahartuṃ dānavaṃ sainyaṃ tarasā hi samabhyayuḥ dānavā daivataiḥ sārdhaṃ nānāpraharaṇodyatāḥ samīyur yudhyamānā vai parvatā iva parvataiḥ

Verse 3

तत्सुरासुरसंयुक्तं युद्धम् अत्यद्भुतं बभौ धर्माधर्मसमायुक्तं दर्पेण विनयेन च

tatsurāsurasaṃyuktaṃ yuddham atyadbhutaṃ babhau dharmādharmasamāyuktaṃ darpeṇa vinayena ca

Verse 4

ततो रथैः प्रज्वलितैर् वाहनैश् च प्रचोदितैः उत्पतद्भिश् च गगनं सासिहस्तैः समन्ततः

tato rathaiḥ prajvalitair vāhanaiś ca pracoditaiḥ utpatadbhiś ca gaganaṃ sāsihastaiḥ samantataḥ

Verse 5

क्षिप्यमाणैश् च मुसलैः संप्रेष्यद्भिश् च सायकैः चापैर् विस्फार्यमाणैश् च पात्यमानैश् च मुद्गरैः

kṣipyamāṇaiś ca musalaiḥ saṃpreṣyadbhiś ca sāyakaiḥ cāpair visphāryamāṇaiś ca pātyamānaiś ca mudgaraiḥ

Verse 6

तद् युद्धम् अभवद् घोरं देवदानवसंकुलम् जगतस् त्रासजननं युगसंवर्तकोपमम्

tad yuddham abhavad ghoraṃ devadānavasaṃkulam jagatas trāsajananaṃ yugasaṃvartakopamam

Verse 7

स्वहस्तमुक्तैः परिघैः क्षिप्रमुक्तैश् च पर्वतैः दानवाः समरे जघ्नुर् देवान् इन्द्रपुरोगमान्

svahastamuktaiḥ parighaiḥ kṣipramuktaiś ca parvataiḥ dānavāḥ samare jaghnur devān indrapurogamān

Verse 8

ते वध्यमाना बलिभिर् दानवैर् जितकाशिभिः विषण्णमनसो देवा जग्मुर् आर्तिं महामृधे

te vadhyamānā balibhir dānavair jitakāśibhiḥ viṣaṇṇamanaso devā jagmur ārtiṃ mahāmṛdhe

Verse 9

ते ऽस्त्रजालैः प्रमथिताः परिघैर् भिन्नमस्तकाः भिन्नोरस्का दितिसुतैर् वेमू रक्तं व्रणैर् बहु

te 'strajālaiḥ pramathitāḥ parighair bhinnamastakāḥ bhinnoraskā ditisutair vemū raktaṃ vraṇair bahu

Verse 10

संदिताः पाशजालैश् च निर्यत्नाश् च शरैः कृताः प्रविष्टा दानवीं मायां न शेकुस् ते विचेष्टितुम्

saṃditāḥ pāśajālaiś ca niryatnāś ca śaraiḥ kṛtāḥ praviṣṭā dānavīṃ māyāṃ na śekus te viceṣṭitum

Verse 11

तत्स्तम्भितम् इवाभाति निष्प्राणसदृशाकृति बलं सुराणाम् असुरैर् निष्प्रयत्नायुधं कृतम्

tatstambhitam ivābhāti niṣprāṇasadṛśākṛti balaṃ surāṇām asurair niṣprayatnāyudhaṃ kṛtam

Verse 12

मायापाशान्विकर्षंश् च छिन्दन् वज्रेण ताञ् शरान् शक्रो दैत्यबलं घोरं विवेश बहुलोचनः

māyāpāśānvikarṣaṃś ca chindan vajreṇa tāñ śarān śakro daityabalaṃ ghoraṃ viveśa bahulocanaḥ

Verse 13

स दैत्यान् प्रमुखे हत्वा तद्दानवबलं महत् तामसेनास्त्रजालेन तमोभूतम् अथाकरोत्

sa daityān pramukhe hatvā taddānavabalaṃ mahat tāmasenāstrajālena tamobhūtam athākarot

Verse 14

ते ऽन्योन्यं नावबुध्यन्त देवान् वा वाहनानि वा घोरेण तमसाविष्टाः पुरुहूतस्य तेजसा

te 'nyonyaṃ nāvabudhyanta devān vā vāhanāni vā ghoreṇa tamasāviṣṭāḥ puruhūtasya tejasā

Verse 15

मायापाशैर् विमुक्तास् तु यत्नवन्तः सुरोत्तमाः वपूंषि दैत्यसंघानां तमोभूतान्य् अपातयन्

māyāpāśair vimuktās tu yatnavantaḥ surottamāḥ vapūṃṣi daityasaṃghānāṃ tamobhūtāny apātayan

Verse 16

अपध्वस्ता विसंज्ञाश् च तमसा नीलवर्चसः पेतुस् ते दानवगणाश् छिन्नपक्षा इवाचलाः

apadhvastā visaṃjñāś ca tamasā nīlavarcasaḥ petus te dānavagaṇāś chinnapakṣā ivācalāḥ

Verse 17

तद्घनीभूतदैत्येन्द्रम् अन्धकारम् इवार्णवम् दानवं देवसदनं तमोभूतम् इवाबभौ

tadghanībhūtadaityendram andhakāram ivārṇavam dānavaṃ devasadanaṃ tamobhūtam ivābabhau

Verse 18

तदासृजन्महामायां मयस् तां तामसीं दहन् युगान्तोद्द्योतजननीं सृष्टाम् और्वेण वह्निना

tadāsṛjanmahāmāyāṃ mayas tāṃ tāmasīṃ dahan yugāntoddyotajananīṃ sṛṣṭām aurveṇa vahninā

Verse 19

सा ददाह तमः सर्वं माया मयविकल्पिता दैत्याश् चादित्यवपुषः सद्य उत्तस्थुर् आहवे

sā dadāha tamaḥ sarvaṃ māyā mayavikalpitā daityāś cādityavapuṣaḥ sadya uttasthur āhave

Verse 20

मायाम् और्वीं समासाद्य दह्यमाना दिवौकसः भेजिरे चन्द्रविषयं शीतांशुसलिलह्रदम्

māyām aurvīṃ samāsādya dahyamānā divaukasaḥ bhejire candraviṣayaṃ śītāṃśusalilahradam

Verse 21

ते दह्यमाना और्वेण तेजसा भ्रष्टतेजसः शशंसुर् वज्रिणे देवाः संतप्ताः शरणैषिणः

te dahyamānā aurveṇa tejasā bhraṣṭatejasaḥ śaśaṃsur vajriṇe devāḥ saṃtaptāḥ śaraṇaiṣiṇaḥ

Verse 22

संतप्ते मायया सैन्ये दह्यमाने च दानवैः चोदितो देवराजेन वरुणो वाक्यम् अब्रवीत्

saṃtapte māyayā sainye dahyamāne ca dānavaiḥ codito devarājena varuṇo vākyam abravīt

Verse 23

पुरा ब्रह्मर्षिजः शक्र तपस् तेपे सुदारुणम् और्वः पूर्वं स तेजस्वी सदृशो ब्रह्मणो गुणैः

purā brahmarṣijaḥ śakra tapas tepe sudāruṇam aurvaḥ pūrvaṃ sa tejasvī sadṛśo brahmaṇo guṇaiḥ

Verse 24

तं तपन्तम् इवादित्यं तपसा जगद् अव्ययम् उपतस्थुर् मुनिगणा देवा देवर्षिभिः सह

taṃ tapantam ivādityaṃ tapasā jagad avyayam upatasthur munigaṇā devā devarṣibhiḥ saha

Verse 25

हिरण्यकशिपुश् चैव दानवो दावनेश्वरः ऋषिं विज्ञापयाम् आस पुरा परमतेजसम्

hiraṇyakaśipuś caiva dānavo dāvaneśvaraḥ ṛṣiṃ vijñāpayām āsa purā paramatejasam

Verse 26

तम् ऊचुर् ब्रह्मॠषयो वचनं धर्मसंहितम् ऋषिवंशेषु भगवञ्श् छिन्नमूलम् इदं कुलम्

tam ūcur brahmaṝṣayo vacanaṃ dharmasaṃhitam ṛṣivaṃśeṣu bhagavañś chinnamūlam idaṃ kulam

Verse 27

एकस् त्वम् अनपत्यश् च गोत्रापत्यं न वर्तते कौमारं व्रतम् आस्थाय क्लेशम् एवानुवर्तसे

ekas tvam anapatyaś ca gotrāpatyaṃ na vartate kaumāraṃ vratam āsthāya kleśam evānuvartase

Verse 28

बहूनि विप्र गोत्राणि मुनीनां भावितात्मनाम् एकदेहानि तिष्ठन्ति विविक्तानि विना प्रजाः

bahūni vipra gotrāṇi munīnāṃ bhāvitātmanām ekadehāni tiṣṭhanti viviktāni vinā prajāḥ

Verse 29

धरत्सूत्सन्नभूतेषु तेषु ते नास्ति कारणम् भवांस् तु तपसा श्रेष्ठः प्रजापतिसमद्युतिः

dharatsūtsannabhūteṣu teṣu te nāsti kāraṇam bhavāṃs tu tapasā śreṣṭhaḥ prajāpatisamadyutiḥ

Verse 30

तत्प्रवर्तस्व वंशाय वर्धयात्मानम् आत्मना आदधत् स्वोर्जितं तेजो द्वितीयां कुरु वै तनुम्

tatpravartasva vaṃśāya vardhayātmānam ātmanā ādadhat svorjitaṃ tejo dvitīyāṃ kuru vai tanum

Verse 31

स एवम् उक्तो मुनिभिर् मुनिर् मनसि ताडितः जगर्हे तान् ऋषिगणान् वचनं चेदम् अब्रवीत्

sa evam ukto munibhir munir manasi tāḍitaḥ jagarhe tān ṛṣigaṇān vacanaṃ cedam abravīt

Verse 32

यथायं शाश्वतो धर्मो मुनीनां विहितः पुरा आर्षं वै सेवतां कर्म वन्यमूलफलाशिनः

yathāyaṃ śāśvato dharmo munīnāṃ vihitaḥ purā ārṣaṃ vai sevatāṃ karma vanyamūlaphalāśinaḥ

Verse 33

ब्रह्मयोनौ प्रसूतस्य ब्राह्मणस्यात्मवर्तिनः ब्रह्मचर्यं सुचरितं ब्रह्माणम् अपि चालयेत्

brahmayonau prasūtasya brāhmaṇasyātmavartinaḥ brahmacaryaṃ sucaritaṃ brahmāṇam api cālayet

Verse 34

द्विजानां वृत्तयस् तिस्रो ये गृहाश्रमवासिनः अस्माकं तु वनं वृत्तिर् वन्याश्रमनिवासिनाम्

dvijānāṃ vṛttayas tisro ye gṛhāśramavāsinaḥ asmākaṃ tu vanaṃ vṛttir vanyāśramanivāsinām

Verse 35

अब्भक्षा वायुभक्षाश् च दन्तोलूखलिनस् तथा अश्मकुट्टा दशतपाः पञ्चसप्ततपाश् च ये

abbhakṣā vāyubhakṣāś ca dantolūkhalinas tathā aśmakuṭṭā daśatapāḥ pañcasaptatapāś ca ye

Verse 36

एते तपसि तिष्ठन्तो व्रतैर् अपि सुदुष्चरैः ब्रह्मचर्यं पुरस्कृत्य प्रार्थयन्ति परां गतिम्

ete tapasi tiṣṭhanto vratair api suduṣcaraiḥ brahmacaryaṃ puraskṛtya prārthayanti parāṃ gatim

Verse 37

ब्रह्मचर्याद् ब्राह्मणस्य ब्राह्मणत्वं विधीयते एवम् आहुः परे लोके ब्रह्मचर्यविदो जनाः

brahmacaryād brāhmaṇasya brāhmaṇatvaṃ vidhīyate evam āhuḥ pare loke brahmacaryavido janāḥ

Verse 38

ब्रह्मचर्ये स्थितं धैर्यं ब्रह्मचर्ये स्थितं तपः ये स्थिता ब्रह्मचर्येण ब्राह्मणा दिवि ते स्थिताः

brahmacarye sthitaṃ dhairyaṃ brahmacarye sthitaṃ tapaḥ ye sthitā brahmacaryeṇa brāhmaṇā divi te sthitāḥ

Verse 39

नास्ति योगं विना सिद्धिर् नास्ति सिद्धिं विना यशः नास्ति लोके यशोमूलं ब्रह्मचर्यात् परं तपः

nāsti yogaṃ vinā siddhir nāsti siddhiṃ vinā yaśaḥ nāsti loke yaśomūlaṃ brahmacaryāt paraṃ tapaḥ

Verse 40

यो निगृह्येन्द्रियग्रामं भूतग्रामं च पञ्चकम् ब्रह्मचर्यं समाधत्ते किम् अतः परमं तपः

yo nigṛhyendriyagrāmaṃ bhūtagrāmaṃ ca pañcakam brahmacaryaṃ samādhatte kim ataḥ paramaṃ tapaḥ

Verse 41

अयोगे केशधरणम् असंकल्पे व्रतक्रिया ब्रह्मचर्यं च चर्या च त्रयं स्याद् दम्भसंज्ञितम्

ayoge keśadharaṇam asaṃkalpe vratakriyā brahmacaryaṃ ca caryā ca trayaṃ syād dambhasaṃjñitam

Verse 42

क्व दाराः क्व च संयोगः क्व च भावविपर्ययः यद् इयं ब्रह्मणा सृष्टा मनसा मानसी प्रजा

kva dārāḥ kva ca saṃyogaḥ kva ca bhāvaviparyayaḥ yad iyaṃ brahmaṇā sṛṣṭā manasā mānasī prajā

Verse 43

यद्य् अस्ति तपसो वीर्यं युष्माकम् अमितात्मनाम् मुखनेत्रविकारेण स्पर्शनैर् भाषणेन च स्मरणं सुन्दरीणां च मनसो विकृतिः पुरा तस्याम् उत्पत्तिम् आसाद्य तस्यां बीजं क आवेहत् पापात्मा विकलो मूढो भवादृश इति श्रुतिः स्मृत्वा ब्रह्मपदात् खिन्नो दृष्ट्वा शुक्रं प्रमुञ्चति सृष्ट्वा विद्रावयत्य् आत्मा तस्यां बीजं क आवहेत् ब्रह्मचर्ये यदा भूते भवेद् यदि विनिश्चयः प्राणिनो दधति के रतिं ततो योषितां वपुषि निर्घृणे ऽशुचौ ब्रह्मचर्यम् अपरं सुनिश्चिताः कुर्महे यद् अभिकाङ्क्षितं हृदि सृजध्वं मानसान् पुत्रान् प्राजापत्येन कर्मणा

yady asti tapaso vīryaṃ yuṣmākam amitātmanām mukhanetravikāreṇa sparśanair bhāṣaṇena ca smaraṇaṃ sundarīṇāṃ ca manaso vikṛtiḥ purā tasyām utpattim āsādya tasyāṃ bījaṃ ka āvehat pāpātmā vikalo mūḍho bhavādṛśa iti śrutiḥ smṛtvā brahmapadāt khinno dṛṣṭvā śukraṃ pramuñcati sṛṣṭvā vidrāvayaty ātmā tasyāṃ bījaṃ ka āvahet brahmacarye yadā bhūte bhaved yadi viniścayaḥ prāṇino dadhati ke ratiṃ tato yoṣitāṃ vapuṣi nirghṛṇe 'śucau brahmacaryam aparaṃ suniścitāḥ kurmahe yad abhikāṅkṣitaṃ hṛdi sṛjadhvaṃ mānasān putrān prājāpatyena karmaṇā

Verse 44

मनसा निर्मिता योनिर् आधातव्या तपस्विना न दारयोगं बीजं वा व्रतमुक्तं तपस्विनाम्

manasā nirmitā yonir ādhātavyā tapasvinā na dārayogaṃ bījaṃ vā vratamuktaṃ tapasvinām

Verse 45

यद् इदं लुप्तधर्मार्थं युष्माभिर् इह निर्भयैः व्याहृतं सद्भिर् अत्यर्थम् असद्भिर् इव मे मतम्

yad idaṃ luptadharmārthaṃ yuṣmābhir iha nirbhayaiḥ vyāhṛtaṃ sadbhir atyartham asadbhir iva me matam

Verse 46

वपुर् दीप्तान्तरात्मानम् एष कृत्वा मनोमयम् दारयोगं विना स्रक्ष्ये पुत्रम् आत्मतनूरुहम्

vapur dīptāntarātmānam eṣa kṛtvā manomayam dārayogaṃ vinā srakṣye putram ātmatanūruham

Verse 47

एवम् आत्मानम् आत्मा मे द्वितीयं जनयिष्यति वन्येनानेन विधिना दिधक्षन्तम् इव प्रजाः

evam ātmānam ātmā me dvitīyaṃ janayiṣyati vanyenānena vidhinā didhakṣantam iva prajāḥ

Verse 48

ऊर्वस् तु तपसाविष्टो निवेश्योरुं हुताशने ममन्थैकेन दर्भेण सुतस्य प्रभवारणिम्

ūrvas tu tapasāviṣṭo niveśyoruṃ hutāśane mamanthaikena darbheṇa sutasya prabhavāraṇim

Verse 49

तस्योरुं सहसा भित्त्वा ज्वालामाली निरिन्धनः जगतो दहनाकाङ्क्षी पुत्रो ऽग्निः समपद्यत

tasyoruṃ sahasā bhittvā jvālāmālī nirindhanaḥ jagato dahanākāṅkṣī putro 'gniḥ samapadyata

Verse 50

ऊर्वस्योरुं विनिर्मिद्य और्वो नामान्तको ऽनलः दिधक्षन्न् इव लोकांस् त्रीञ् जज्ञे परमकोपनः

ūrvasyoruṃ vinirmidya aurvo nāmāntako 'nalaḥ didhakṣann iva lokāṃs trīñ jajñe paramakopanaḥ

Verse 51

उत्पन्नमात्रश् चोवाच पितरं दीप्तया गिरा क्षुधा मे बाधते तात जगद् धक्ष्ये त्यजस्व माम्

utpannamātraś covāca pitaraṃ dīptayā girā kṣudhā me bādhate tāta jagad dhakṣye tyajasva mām

Verse 52

त्रिदिवारोहिभिर् ज्वालैर् जृम्भमाणो दिशो दश निर्दहन् सर्वभूतानि ववृधे सो ऽन्तको ऽनलः

tridivārohibhir jvālair jṛmbhamāṇo diśo daśa nirdahan sarvabhūtāni vavṛdhe so 'ntako 'nalaḥ

Verse 53

एतस्मिन्न् अनन्तरे ब्रह्मा मुनिम् ऊर्वं सभाजयन् सर्वलोकपतिः प्रभुः आजगाम मुनिर् यत्र व्यसृजत् पुत्रम् उत्तमम् स ददर्शोरुम् ऊर्वस्य दीप्यमानं सुताग्निना और्वकोपाग्निसंतप्तांल् लोकांश् च ऋषिभिः सह तम् उवाच ततो ब्रह्मा पुत्रेदं धार्यतां तेजो लोकानां क्रियतां दया

etasminn anantare brahmā munim ūrvaṃ sabhājayan sarvalokapatiḥ prabhuḥ ājagāma munir yatra vyasṛjat putram uttamam sa dadarśorum ūrvasya dīpyamānaṃ sutāgninā aurvakopāgnisaṃtaptāṃl lokāṃś ca ṛṣibhiḥ saha tam uvāca tato brahmā putredaṃ dhāryatāṃ tejo lokānāṃ kriyatāṃ dayā

Verse 54

अस्यापत्यस्य ते विप्र करिष्ये साह्यम् उत्तमम् वासं चास्य प्रदास्यामि प्राशनं चामृतोपमम् तथ्यम् एतन् मम वचः शृणु त्वं वदतां वर

asyāpatyasya te vipra kariṣye sāhyam uttamam vāsaṃ cāsya pradāsyāmi prāśanaṃ cāmṛtopamam tathyam etan mama vacaḥ śṛṇu tvaṃ vadatāṃ vara

Verse 55

भोजनं चास्य दास्यामि येन प्रीतो भविष्यति धन्यो ऽस्म्य् अनुगृहीतो ऽस्मि यन् मे ऽद्य भगवाञ् शिशोः मतिम् एतां ददातीह परमानुग्रहाय वै

bhojanaṃ cāsya dāsyāmi yena prīto bhaviṣyati dhanyo 'smy anugṛhīto 'smi yan me 'dya bhagavāñ śiśoḥ matim etāṃ dadātīha paramānugrahāya vai

Verse 56

प्रभातकाले संप्राप्ते काङ्क्षितव्ये समागमे भगवंस् तर्पितः पुत्रः कैर् हव्यैः प्राप्स्यते सुखम्

prabhātakāle saṃprāpte kāṅkṣitavye samāgame bhagavaṃs tarpitaḥ putraḥ kair havyaiḥ prāpsyate sukham

Verse 57

कुत्र वास्य निवासः स्याद् भोजनं च किमात्मकम् विधास्यति भवान् अस्य वीर्यतुल्यं महौजसः

kutra vāsya nivāsaḥ syād bhojanaṃ ca kimātmakam vidhāsyati bhavān asya vīryatulyaṃ mahaujasaḥ

Verse 58

वडवामुखे ऽस्य वसतिः समुद्रे वै भविष्यति मम योनिर् जलं विप्र तच् च मे तोयपं मुखम्

vaḍavāmukhe 'sya vasatiḥ samudre vai bhaviṣyati mama yonir jalaṃ vipra tac ca me toyapaṃ mukham

Verse 59

तत्राहम् आसे निरतः पिबन् वारिमयं हवैः तद्धविस् तव पुत्रस्य विसृजाम्य् आलयं च तत्

tatrāham āse nirataḥ piban vārimayaṃ havaiḥ taddhavis tava putrasya visṛjāmy ālayaṃ ca tat

Verse 60

ततो युगान्ते भूतानाम् एष चाहं च सुव्रत सहितौ विचरिष्यावो निष्प्राणनकराव् इह

tato yugānte bhūtānām eṣa cāhaṃ ca suvrata sahitau vicariṣyāvo niṣprāṇanakarāv iha

Verse 61

एषो ऽग्निर् अन्तकालस्य सलिलाशी मया कृतः दहनः सर्वभूतानां सदेवासुररक्षसाम्

eṣo 'gnir antakālasya salilāśī mayā kṛtaḥ dahanaḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ sadevāsurarakṣasām

Verse 62

एवम् अस्त्व् इति सो ऽप्य् अग्निः संवृतज्वालमण्डलः प्रविवेशार्णवमुखं निक्षिप्य पितरि प्रभाम्

evam astv iti so 'py agniḥ saṃvṛtajvālamaṇḍalaḥ praviveśārṇavamukhaṃ nikṣipya pitari prabhām

Verse 63

प्रतियातस् ततो ब्रह्मा ते च सर्वे महर्षयः और्वस्याग्नेः प्रभावज्ञाः स्वां स्वां गतिम् उपाश्रिताः

pratiyātas tato brahmā te ca sarve maharṣayaḥ aurvasyāgneḥ prabhāvajñāḥ svāṃ svāṃ gatim upāśritāḥ

Verse 64

हिरण्यकशिपुर् दृष्ट्वा तद् अद्भुतम् अपूजयत् और्वं प्रणतसर्वाङ्गो वाक्यं चेदम् उवाच ह

hiraṇyakaśipur dṛṣṭvā tad adbhutam apūjayat aurvaṃ praṇatasarvāṅgo vākyaṃ cedam uvāca ha

Verse 65

भगवन्न् अद्भुतम् इदं निर्वृत्तं लोकसाक्षिकम् तपसा ते मुनिश्रेष्ठ परितुष्टः पितामहः

bhagavann adbhutam idaṃ nirvṛttaṃ lokasākṣikam tapasā te muniśreṣṭha parituṣṭaḥ pitāmahaḥ

Verse 66

अहं तु तव पुत्रस्य तव चैव महाव्रत भृत्य इत्य् अवगन्तव्यः श्लाघ्यो ऽस्मि यदि कर्मणा

ahaṃ tu tava putrasya tava caiva mahāvrata bhṛtya ity avagantavyaḥ ślāghyo 'smi yadi karmaṇā

Verse 67

तं मा पश्य समापन्नं तवैवाराधने रतम् यत् सीदेयं मुनिश्रेष्ठ तवैव स्यात्पराजयः

taṃ mā paśya samāpannaṃ tavaivārādhane ratam yat sīdeyaṃ muniśreṣṭha tavaiva syātparājayaḥ

Verse 68

शिष्यो ऽस्मि ते तपःश्रेष्ठ सुरेभ्यो मे भयं नुद धन्यो ऽस्म्य् अनुगृहीतो ऽस्मि यस्य ते ऽहं गुरुर् मतः नास्ति ते तपसानेन भयम् अद्येह सुव्रत

śiṣyo 'smi te tapaḥśreṣṭha surebhyo me bhayaṃ nuda dhanyo 'smy anugṛhīto 'smi yasya te 'haṃ gurur mataḥ nāsti te tapasānena bhayam adyeha suvrata

Verse 69

इमां च मायां गृह्णीष्व मम पुत्रेण निर्मिताम् निरिन्धनाम् अग्निमयीं दुःस्पर्शां पावकैर् अपि

imāṃ ca māyāṃ gṛhṇīṣva mama putreṇa nirmitām nirindhanām agnimayīṃ duḥsparśāṃ pāvakair api

Verse 70

एषा ते स्वस्य वंशस्य वशगारिविनिग्रहे रक्षिष्यत्य् आत्मपक्षं च परांश् च प्रदहिष्यति

eṣā te svasya vaṃśasya vaśagārivinigrahe rakṣiṣyaty ātmapakṣaṃ ca parāṃś ca pradahiṣyati

Verse 71

एवम् अस्त्व् इति तां गृह्य प्रणम्य मुनिपुंगवम् जगाम त्रिदिवं हृष्टः कृतार्थो दानवेश्वरः

evam astv iti tāṃ gṛhya praṇamya munipuṃgavam jagāma tridivaṃ hṛṣṭaḥ kṛtārtho dānaveśvaraḥ

Verse 72

सैषा दुर्विषहा माया देवैर् अपि दुरासदा और्वेण निर्मिता पूर्वं पावकेनोर्वसूनुना

saiṣā durviṣahā māyā devair api durāsadā aurveṇa nirmitā pūrvaṃ pāvakenorvasūnunā

Verse 73

तस्मिंस् तु व्युत्थिते दैत्ये निर्वीयैषा न संशयः शापो ह्य् अस्याः पुरा दत्तः सृष्टा येनैव तेजसा

tasmiṃs tu vyutthite daitye nirvīyaiṣā na saṃśayaḥ śāpo hy asyāḥ purā dattaḥ sṛṣṭā yenaiva tejasā

Verse 74

यद्य् एषा प्रतिहन्तव्या कर्तव्यो भगवान् सुखी दीयतां मे सखा शक्र तोययोनिर् निशाकरः तेनाहं सह संगम्य यादोभिश् च समाहितः मायाम् एतां हनिष्यामि त्वत्प्रसादान् न संशयः

yady eṣā pratihantavyā kartavyo bhagavān sukhī dīyatāṃ me sakhā śakra toyayonir niśākaraḥ tenāhaṃ saha saṃgamya yādobhiś ca samāhitaḥ māyām etāṃ haniṣyāmi tvatprasādān na saṃśayaḥ

'If this (māyā) is to be counter-struck, let the Lord be made happy. Give me the friend, Śakra — the water-born moon. Having joined with him and steady together with the sea-creatures, I shall destroy this māyā of yours…'

Verse commentary

The Sur-Asura Battle and the Birth of the Aurva Fire

सुरासुरसङ्ग्रामः — और्व-अग्नि-उत्पत्तिश् च

Verses 1, 3, 8, 12, 18, 20, 50: Uśanas completing the daitya-blessing and the terrible battle beginning, the yuddha itself appearing as *dharma-and-adharma, pride-and-humility together*, the devas struck and despairing, Indra entering the demon-host with the vajra and cutting their māyā-nets, Maya releasing the *tāmasī māyā* made from the Aurva fire, the devas seeking shelter in the moon's cool waters, and the back-story of the Aurva fire itself — born from a sage's split thigh and ready to burn the three worlds. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

HV 35 is the heart of the Tārakāmaya war. The two armies — catalogued in Chapters 33 and 34, blessed in opposite directions by the two priests at the end of 34 — now meet. The chapter opens with Uśanas' second blessing still on the air (35.1) and the sentence *tumulo vigrahas tadā* — 'then there was tumult'. HV 35.3 gives the war its deepest name: *dharmādharma-samāyuktaṃ darpeṇa vinayena ca* — 'joined of dharma and adharma, of pride and humility'. The adversaries are not coded in a single colour. The devas are struck, despairing (35.8); Indra rallies and enters the demon-mass, vajra breaking māyā-nets (35.12); Maya the daitya-architect then unleashes his signature *tāmasī māyā* — a demon-illusion crafted from the terrible *Aurva* underwater-fire (35.18). The gods, burning, flee to the moon's cool lake (35.20) — one of the chapter's most tender images. The rest of the chapter then *tells the back-story of the Aurva-fire itself* (35.25–74): how a sage's split thigh birthed an all-burning *antako 'nalaḥ* who nearly consumed the three worlds before being bound to water. The chapter has the Harivaṃśa's signature double structure: a present war in its first half; the mythological source of its chief weapon in its second.

HV 35.1

स्वस्ति दैत्येभ्य इति चाप्य् उशना वाक्यम् आददे । ताभ्यां बलाभ्यां संजज्ञे तुमुलो विग्रहस् तदा । सुराणाम् असुराणां च परस्परजयैषिणाम् ॥

svasti daityebhya iti cāpy uśanā vākyam ādade | tābhyāṃ balābhyāṃ saṃjajñe tumulo vigrahas tadā | surāṇām asurāṇāṃ ca paraspara-jayaiṣiṇām

Uśanas, having taken up the word 'may there be well-being for the daityas' — between the two hosts then arose a tumultuous conflict, of suras and asuras each seeking victory over the other.

The Living Words

*Svasti daityebhyaḥ*, 'well-being for the daityas'. *Uśanā vākyam ādade*, 'Uśanas took up the word'. *Tumulo vigrahaḥ*, 'tumultuous conflict'. *Paraspara-jayaiṣiṇām*, 'each seeking victory over the other'.

The Heart of It

The previous chapter ended with both priests speaking *svasti*; this chapter opens with the very same word, and immediately *tumulo vigrahaḥ*. A bitter comment: blessings do not prevent battles. The priests say *may it be well*; the armies say *let us win*. The Warkari reading is sober: a blessing-word on one side does not automatically quiet the war. What actually ends a war is the Lord's coming into it, which this chapter is about to set up. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 18 *śānti-praṇati-kāraka nāma* — 'the Name that produces peace and bowing' — says what *svasti* alone cannot: it is the Name, spoken on the tongue *while the sword is lowered*, that stills. The two *svastis* of HV 34.51 will be fulfilled in HV 36's Kṛṣṇa-victory, not in HV 35.1's *jay-aiṣiṇām*.

HV 35.3

तत्सुरासुरसंयुक्तं युद्धम् अत्यद्भुतं बभौ । धर्माधर्मसमायुक्तं दर्पेण विनयेन च ॥

tat sur-āsura-saṃyuktaṃ yuddham aty-adbhutaṃ babhau | dharmādharma-samāyuktaṃ darpeṇa vinayena ca

That battle, joined of sura and asura, appeared most wondrous — joined of dharma and adharma, of pride and humility together.

The Living Words

*Sur-āsura-saṃyuktam yuddham*, 'the sura-asura-joined battle'. *Aty-adbhutam babhau*, 'appeared very wondrous'. *Dharmādharma-samāyuktaṃ*, 'dharma-adharma-joined'. *Darpeṇa vinayena ca*, 'with pride and with humility [both]'.

The Heart of It

The verse's most arresting line is the last: *darpeṇa vinayena ca* — 'with pride and with humility'. The Harivaṃśa does not pretend the devas fight only in *vinaya* and the asuras only in *darpa*. Both qualities are in both camps, and the *yuddha* is *samāyuktam* — 'joined together' — of these tendencies. The Warkari reading is exacting: every battle inside the soul is of the same mixed constitution. The devotee's own *vinaya* carries veins of *darpa*; the sinner's *darpa* carries threads of *vinaya*. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 13 *mana-rūpē māna-dāna* — 'the mind's-form, receiving honor' — names exactly this mixed quality. The chapter's honesty is its theological genius; the Lord who will come in HV 36 will heal not a pure side but a mixed one.

HV 35.8

ते वध्यमाना बलिभिर् दानवैर् जितकाशिभिः । विषण्णमनसो देवा जग्मुर् आर्तिं महामृधे ॥

te vadhyamānā balibhir dānavair jita-kāśibhiḥ | viṣaṇṇa-manaso devā jagmur ārtiṃ mahā-mṛdhe

Being struck by the strong dānavas flushed with victory, the gods — their minds despondent — went into anguish in the great battle.

The Living Words

*Vadhyamānāḥ balibhir dānavaiḥ*, 'being struck by the strong dānavas'. *Jita-kāśibhiḥ*, 'flushed with victory'. *Viṣaṇṇa-manasaḥ*, 'despondent in mind'. *Jagmur ārtim*, 'went into anguish'.

The Heart of It

The gods *lose* the opening of the battle. They are *viṣaṇṇa-manasaḥ* — despondent. The Warkari reading honors this: the first scene, for every soul, is defeat. The pride of the asuras is well-organized; the humility of the sādhaka has not yet found its form. HV 35.8 is the scriptural warrant for the Warkari's familiar *dīnatā* — the posture of 'I am small, I am weak'. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 3 *dīnadayālu* — 'merciful to the dīna' — rests on HV 35.8. The Lord who comes in the next chapter is not coming to a confident army; he is coming to a *viṣaṇṇa* one. That is always who he comes to.

HV 35.12

मायापाशान्विकर्षंश् च छिन्दन् वज्रेण ताञ् शरान् । शक्रो दैत्यबलं घोरं विवेश बहुलोचनः ॥

māyā-pāśān vikarṣaṃś ca chindan vajreṇa tāñ śarān | śakro daitya-balaṃ ghoraṃ viveśa bahu-locanaḥ

Dragging the māyā-nooses, cutting those arrows with the vajra — Śakra the thousand-eyed entered the terrible daitya-host.

The Living Words

*Māyā-pāśān vikarṣan*, 'dragging the māyā-nooses'. *Chindan vajreṇa tāñ śarān*, 'cutting those arrows with the vajra'. *Śakro daitya-balaṃ ghoraṃ viveśa*, 'Śakra entered the terrible daitya-host'. *Bahu-locanaḥ*, 'thousand-eyed'.

The Heart of It

Indra rallies: he cuts the māyā-nets with the vajra — the vajra, which Vedic tradition remembers as his characteristic weapon, here has a specific office. It *cuts māyā*. The Warkari tradition reads *vajra* symbolically and sharply. Jñāneśvar's *Jñāneśvarī* on Gītā 10.28 names *vajra* as *viveka* — the discriminating insight that cuts illusion. HV 35.12 is the Purāṇic picture of the same teaching. The devotee's vajra is *viveka-nāma* — the Name spoken with discrimination. It cuts the māyā-net that the chapter's first scenes had thrown over the host. *Bahu-locanaḥ* — thousand-eyed — is perfect for this moment: to cut illusion, one must be *many-eyed*, seeing from every angle. The Haripāṭh's own refrain *chāḍu nako rāma-dhyāna* — 'do not let go of Rāma-meditation' — is this many-eyedness in bhakti-form.

HV 35.18

तदासृजन्महामायां मयस् तां तामसीं दहन् । युगान्तोद्द्योतजननीं सृष्टाम् और्वेण वह्निना ॥

tadāsṛjan mahā-māyāṃ mayas tāṃ tāmasīṃ dahan | yug-āntoddyota-jananīṃ sṛṣṭām aurveṇa vahninā

Then Maya released the great māyā — the tāmasī — burning, giving birth to a yuga-end brilliance, created with the Aurva fire.

The Living Words

*Mahā-māyāṃ mayaḥ tāṃ tāmasīṃ*, 'the great māyā, that tāmasī one'. *Asṛjan dahan*, 'released, burning'. *Yug-āntoddyota-jananīm*, 'a yuga-end brilliance-producer'. *Sṛṣṭām aurveṇa vahninā*, 'created with the Aurva fire'.

The Heart of It

Maya — the demon-architect — releases a *tāmasī māyā* woven from the *Aurva* underwater-fire. The verse names three things at once: the *māyā*, the *tamas* that is its quality, and the *Aurva* fire that is its raw material. The Warkari reading reads the sequence carefully: demonic illusion uses *real* cosmic heat (the Aurva fire is genuinely dangerous, as HV 35.50 will show). Māyā is not nothing; it is power-displaced. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 11 *tamas-timira hārī* — 'destroyer of tamas-darkness' — names exactly the quality Maya weaponizes. The remedy has to be not lesser brilliance but *deeper than brilliance* — the still Name. The chapter's second half (35.25–74) will tell the Aurva-fire's origin, because the cure requires knowing the fire's source.

HV 35.20

मायाम् और्वीं समासाद्य दह्यमाना दिवौकसः । भेजिरे चन्द्रविषयं शीतांशुसलिलह्रदम् ॥

māyām aurvīṃ samāsādya dahyamānā divaukasaḥ | bhejire candra-viṣayaṃ śīt-āṃśu-salila-hradam

Burning when they met the Aurva-māyā, the heaven-dwellers took refuge in the Moon's domain — the cool-rayed water-lake.

The Living Words

*Māyām aurvīṃ samāsādya*, 'having met the Aurva-māyā'. *Dahyamānā divaukasaḥ*, 'burning, the heaven-dwellers'. *Bhejire candra-viṣayam*, 'took refuge in the Moon's domain'. *Śīt-āṃśu-salila-hradam*, 'the cool-rayed water-lake'.

The Heart of It

This is one of the tenderest images in HV 35. The devas, *burning*, do not fight harder; they take shelter in the moon's *salila-hrada* — a lake of cool rays. The Warkari reading honors this deeply: when the cosmic fire is unbearable, the answer is not more heat but *shelter in the cool*. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 6 *nāma-candra-śītala* — 'the Name, cool as the moon' — is HV 35.20 turned to bhakti. The Name is the *candra-viṣaya* where the burning soul rests. Tukārām's *deha-devāca dātā vitṭhala* — 'Viṭṭhal, giver of the god-body' — similarly shelters the burning devotee in the cool form. The verse also prefigures the chapter's outcome: the Aurva-fire is eventually bound to water (*vaḍava-agni*, the ocean-mare-fire); fire that cannot be extinguished is cooled by being *yoked to water*, as devotion yokes the burning mind to the Name.

HV 35.50

ऊर्वस्योरुं विनिर्मिद्य और्वो नामान्तको ऽनलः । दिधक्षन्न् इव लोकांस् त्रीञ् जज्ञे परमकोपनः ॥

ūrvasyoruṃ vinirmidya aurvo nāmāntako 'nalaḥ | didhakṣann iva lokāṃs trīñ jajñe parama-kopanaḥ

Splitting Ūrva's thigh, a fire named Aurva — an end-maker — was born, as if wishing to burn the three worlds, supremely wrathful.

The Living Words

*Ūrvasya ūruṃ vinirmidya*, 'splitting Ūrva's thigh'. *Aurvo nāmāntako 'nalaḥ*, 'a fire named Aurva, an ender'. *Didhakṣann iva lokāṃs trīn*, 'as if wishing to burn the three worlds'. *Jajñe parama-kopanaḥ*, 'was born, supremely wrathful'.

The Heart of It

The Aurva fire's origin: the sage Ūrva's own *thigh* is split, and from it a fire is born. The Warkari reading is layered. The *ūru* (thigh) is where the sage sat to meditate; the violence done to a meditator's *āsana* produces a world-burning fire. Pain held in the body of a just man becomes cosmic. Jñāneśvar's own life — the *samādhi* at Āḷandī taken by his own hand — has its echo here; saints whose injustice is unattended do generate cosmic heat. The Harivaṃśa's solution in the subsequent verses is *to bind the fire to the ocean* — the *vaḍava-agni* of later tradition. The Warkari reading: the world's injustice-heat is bound only by being given to the Name, which is an ocean-sized container. HV 35.50's *parama-kopanaḥ* fire becomes, in the Haripāṭh's grammar, *parama-kāruṇika nāma* — the supremely compassionate Name. Same intensity, opposite direction.

Thread

HV 35 gives the war its moral and metaphysical honesty. *Dharmādharma-samāyuktam, darpeṇa vinayena ca* — both sides are mixtures. The devas lose the opening; *viṣaṇṇa-manasaḥ* they go to anguish. Indra's vajra cuts the first nets of māyā; Maya's *tāmasī* fire, woven from the Aurva flame, forces even the gods to shelter in the moon's cool waters. The chapter's second half then tells the Aurva fire's origin — a sage's thigh split, a cosmic anger born, a fire that nearly burned the worlds until bound to the ocean. The Warkari tradition reads the whole chapter as a treatise on *heat* — cosmic, moral, personal — and its only possible cooling: shelter in the *candra-viṣaya* (name-as-moon), binding of the fire to water (bhakti-as-ocean). Chapter 36 will bring the Lord himself into this heated field.

Echo in the saints

Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 6 *nāma-candra-śītala* — 'the Name, cool as the moon' — walks straight out of HV 35.20: burning devotees shelter in the *candra-viṣaya*. Tukārām's *viṭṭho-dhyānē pāpa-tāpa niḥ-kopa* — 'in Viṭṭhal-meditation sin-heat, wrath, fall quiet' — is HV 35.50's *parama-kopana* fire converted into its bhakti-complement: *parama-kāruṇika* stillness. And the Harivaṃśa's most honest line — *darpeṇa vinayena ca* at 35.3 — is the Warkari tradition's permanent diagnosis: no devotee is *only* vinaya, no sinner *only* darpa. The Name accepts both, names both, cools both.

Scripture references

EchoesBhagavad Gītā 18.40

The Gītā's teaching on mixed natures inside every fighter is HV 35.3 in philosophical form.

न तद् अस्ति पृथिव्यां वा दिवि देवेषु वा पुनः । सत्त्वं प्रकृतिजैर् मुक्तं यद् एभिः स्यात् त्रिभिर् गुणैः ॥

na tad asti pṛthivyāṃ vā divi deveṣu vā punaḥ | sattvaṃ prakṛti-jair muktaṃ yad ebhiḥ syāt tribhir guṇaiḥ

There is no being on earth, nor again in heaven among the gods, nor any sattva, free from these three prakṛti-born guṇas.

HV 35.3's *dharmādharma-samāyuktaṃ darpeṇa vinayena ca* — 'joined of dharma-adharma, pride-humility' — is Gītā 18.40 in battle-scenery. Even the devas carry *darpa*; even the asuras carry *vinaya*. The Warkari tradition reads HV 35 and Gītā 18 together: the war is internal as much as external, and no side is a pure guṇa.

EchoesBhagavad Gītā 18.66

Taking shelter in the Lord when burning is the Gītā's own instruction.

सर्वधर्मान् परित्यज्य माम् एकं शरणं व्रज । अहं त्वां सर्वपापेभ्यो मोक्षयिष्यामि मा शुचः ॥

sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja | ahaṃ tvāṃ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ

Abandoning all dharmas, come for refuge to Me alone. I shall free you from all sins; do not grieve.

HV 35.20's *bhejire candra-viṣayam* — 'took refuge in the Moon's domain' — is the Gītā's *śaraṇaṃ vraja* in purāṇic-cosmological form. The burning devas take shelter; the Gītā's arjuna is asked to do the same. The Warkari tradition reads the two verses as one movement: when the Aurva-fire of life is unbearable, *shelter*, and let the cool come to you.

BORI critical edition, ed. P. L. Vaidya (1969). Digital text from the GRETIL Zurich constituted text. Distributed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.