राम

Harivaṃśa-parva

Harivaṃśa · Adhyāya 36

60 versesSoma Joins Indra

Synopsis

Pleased, Śakra sends Soma forward to battle, "cool-weaponed." He commands: "Soma, go; be companion to the wielder of the noose, for the destruction of the asuras and the victory of the gods." The chapter narrates the long encounter in which the Lord does not tremble; the unshakable Gadādhara does not give way to anger. The chapter closes with the gods led by Śakra falling into distress at the sight of Kālanemi descending upon them like Time himself, a terrifying presence.

First-pass synopsis; pending review by a Sanskritist.

Verse 1

एवम् अस्त्व् इति संहृष्टः शक्रस् त्रिदशवर्धनः संदिदेशाग्रतः सोमं युद्धाय शिशिरायुधम्

evam astv iti saṃhṛṣṭaḥ śakras tridaśavardhanaḥ saṃdideśāgrataḥ somaṃ yuddhāya śiśirāyudham

'So be it.' Delighted, Śakra, increaser of the Thirty, commanded Soma of cool weapons to the front for the battle.

Verse 2

गच्छ सोम सहायत्वं कुरु पाशधरस्य वै असुराणां विनाशाय जयार्थं च दिवौकसाम्

gaccha soma sahāyatvaṃ kuru pāśadharasya vai asurāṇāṃ vināśāya jayārthaṃ ca divaukasām

Verse 3

त्वम् अप्रतिमवीर्यश् च ज्योतिषां चेश्वरेश्वरः त्वन्मयं सर्वलोकानां रसं रसविदो विदुः

tvam apratimavīryaś ca jyotiṣāṃ ceśvareśvaraḥ tvanmayaṃ sarvalokānāṃ rasaṃ rasavido viduḥ

Verse 4

क्षयवृद्धिस् तव व्यक्ता सागरे खे च मण्डले परिवर्तस्य् अहोरात्रं कालं जगति योजयन्

kṣayavṛddhis tava vyaktā sāgare khe ca maṇḍale parivartasy ahorātraṃ kālaṃ jagati yojayan

Verse 5

लोकच्छायामयं लक्ष्म तवाङ्के शशसंस्थितम् न विदुः सोम देवाश् च ये च नक्षत्रयोगिनः

lokacchāyāmayaṃ lakṣma tavāṅke śaśasaṃsthitam na viduḥ soma devāś ca ye ca nakṣatrayoginaḥ

Verse 6

त्वम् आदित्यपथाद् ऊर्ध्वं ज्योतिषां चोपरि स्थितः तमः प्रोत्सार्य वपुषा भासयस्य् अखिलं जगत्

tvam ādityapathād ūrdhvaṃ jyotiṣāṃ copari sthitaḥ tamaḥ protsārya vapuṣā bhāsayasy akhilaṃ jagat

Verse 7

श्वेतभानुर् हिमतनुर् ज्योतिषाम् अधिपः शशी अब्दकृत् कालयोगात्मा ईज्यो यज्ञरसो ऽव्ययः

śvetabhānur himatanur jyotiṣām adhipaḥ śaśī abdakṛt kālayogātmā ījyo yajñaraso 'vyayaḥ

Verse 8

ओषधीशः क्रियायोनिर् अब्जयोनिर् अनुष्णभाक् शीतांशुर् अमृताधारश् चपलः श्वेतवाहनः

oṣadhīśaḥ kriyāyonir abjayonir anuṣṇabhāk śītāṃśur amṛtādhāraś capalaḥ śvetavāhanaḥ

Verse 9

त्वं कान्तिः कान्तवपुषां त्वं सोमः सोमवृत्तिनाम् सौम्यस् त्वं सर्वभूतानां तिमिरघ्नस् त्वम् ऋक्षराट्

tvaṃ kāntiḥ kāntavapuṣāṃ tvaṃ somaḥ somavṛttinām saumyas tvaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ timiraghnas tvam ṛkṣarāṭ

Verse 10

तद् गच्छ त्वं सहानेन वरुणेन वरूथिना शमयस्वासुरीं मायां यया दह्याम संयुगे

tad gaccha tvaṃ sahānena varuṇena varūthinā śamayasvāsurīṃ māyāṃ yayā dahyāma saṃyuge

Verse 11

यन् मा वदसि युद्धार्थे देवराज वरप्रद एष वर्षामि शिशिरं दैत्यमायापकर्षणम्

yan mā vadasi yuddhārthe devarāja varaprada eṣa varṣāmi śiśiraṃ daityamāyāpakarṣaṇam

Verse 12

एतान् मच्छीतनिर्दग्धान् पश्यस्व हिमवेष्टितान् विमायान् विमदांश् चैव दैत्यसंघान् महाहवे

etān macchītanirdagdhān paśyasva himaveṣṭitān vimāyān vimadāṃś caiva daityasaṃghān mahāhave

Verse 13

ततो हिमकरोत्सृष्टाः सबाष्पा हिमवृष्टयः वेष्टयन्ति स्म तान् घोरान् दैत्यान् मेघगणा इव

tato himakarotsṛṣṭāḥ sabāṣpā himavṛṣṭayaḥ veṣṭayanti sma tān ghorān daityān meghagaṇā iva

Verse 14

तौ पाशशुक्लांशुधरौ वरुणेन्दू महारणे जघ्नतुर् हिमपातैश् च पाशपातैश् च दानवान्

tau pāśaśuklāṃśudharau varuṇendū mahāraṇe jaghnatur himapātaiś ca pāśapātaiś ca dānavān

Verse 15

द्वाव् अम्बुनाथौ समरे तौ पाशहिमयोधिनौ मृधे चेरतुर् अम्भोभिः क्षुब्धाव् इव महार्णवौ

dvāv ambunāthau samare tau pāśahimayodhinau mṛdhe ceratur ambhobhiḥ kṣubdhāv iva mahārṇavau

Verse 16

ताभ्याम् आप्लावितं सैन्यं तद् दानवम् अदृश्यत जगत्संवर्तकाम्भोदैः प्रवृत्तैर् इव संवृतम्

tābhyām āplāvitaṃ sainyaṃ tad dānavam adṛśyata jagatsaṃvartakāmbhodaiḥ pravṛttair iva saṃvṛtam

Verse 17

ताव् उद्यतांशुपाशौ तु शशाङ्कवरुणाव् उभौ तां मायां शमयाम् आस्तां देवौ दैतेयनिर्मिताम्

tāv udyatāṃśupāśau tu śaśāṅkavaruṇāv ubhau tāṃ māyāṃ śamayām āstāṃ devau daiteyanirmitām

Verse 18

शीतांशुजलनिर्दग्धाः पाशैश् च प्रसिता मृधे न शेकुश् चलितुं दैत्या विशिरस्का इवाद्रयः

śītāṃśujalanirdagdhāḥ pāśaiś ca prasitā mṛdhe na śekuś calituṃ daityā viśiraskā ivādrayaḥ

Verse 19

शीतांशुनिहतास् ते तु पेतुर् दैत्या हिमार्दिताः हिमप्लावितसर्वाङ्गा निरुष्माण इवाग्रयः

śītāṃśunihatās te tu petur daityā himārditāḥ himaplāvitasarvāṅgā niruṣmāṇa ivāgrayaḥ

Verse 20

तेषां तु दिवि दैत्यानां विपरीतप्रभाणि ह विमानानि विचित्राणि प्रपतन्त्य् उत्पतन्ति च

teṣāṃ tu divi daityānāṃ viparītaprabhāṇi ha vimānāni vicitrāṇi prapatanty utpatanti ca

Verse 21

तान् पाशहस्तग्रथितांश् छादिताञ् शीतरश्मिभिः मयो ददर्श मायावी दानवान् दिवि दानवः

tān pāśahastagrathitāṃś chāditāñ śītaraśmibhiḥ mayo dadarśa māyāvī dānavān divi dānavaḥ

Verse 22

स शिलाजालविततां गण्डशैलाट्टहासिनीम् पादपोत्कटकूटाग्रां कन्दराकीर्णकाननाम्

sa śilājālavitatāṃ gaṇḍaśailāṭṭahāsinīm pādapotkaṭakūṭāgrāṃ kandarākīrṇakānanām

Verse 23

सिंहव्याघ्रगजाकीर्णां नदन्तीं द्विपयूथपैः ईहामृगगणाकीर्णां पवनाघूर्णितद्रुमाम्

siṃhavyāghragajākīrṇāṃ nadantīṃ dvipayūthapaiḥ īhāmṛgagaṇākīrṇāṃ pavanāghūrṇitadrumām

Verse 24

निर्मितां स्वेन पुत्रेण क्रौञ्चेन दिवि कामगाम् प्रथितां पार्वतीं मायां ससृजे स समन्ततः

nirmitāṃ svena putreṇa krauñcena divi kāmagām prathitāṃ pārvatīṃ māyāṃ sasṛje sa samantataḥ

Verse 25

साश्मशब्दैः शिलावर्षैः प्रपतद्भिश् च पादपैः निजघ्ने देवसंघांस् तान् दानवांश् चाप्य् अजीवयत्

sāśmaśabdaiḥ śilāvarṣaiḥ prapatadbhiś ca pādapaiḥ nijaghne devasaṃghāṃs tān dānavāṃś cāpy ajīvayat

Verse 26

नैशाकरी वारुणी च माये ऽन्तर्दधतुस् ततः अश्मभिश् चायसघनैः किरद्देवगणान् रणे

naiśākarī vāruṇī ca māye 'ntardadhatus tataḥ aśmabhiś cāyasaghanaiḥ kiraddevagaṇān raṇe

Verse 27

साश्मसंघातविषमा द्रुमपर्वतसंकटा अभवद् द्यौर् असंहार्या पृथिवी पर्वतैर् इव

sāśmasaṃghātaviṣamā drumaparvatasaṃkaṭā abhavad dyaur asaṃhāryā pṛthivī parvatair iva

Verse 28

नानाहतो ऽश्मभिः कश्चिच् छिलाभिश् चाप्य् अताडितः नानिरुद्धो द्रुमगणैर् देवो ऽदृश्यत संयुगे

nānāhato 'śmabhiḥ kaścic chilābhiś cāpy atāḍitaḥ nāniruddho drumagaṇair devo 'dṛśyata saṃyuge

Verse 29

तद् असंस्रस्तधनुषं भग्नप्रहरणाविलम् निष्प्रयत्नं सुरानीकं वर्जयित्वा गदाधरम्

tad asaṃsrastadhanuṣaṃ bhagnapraharaṇāvilam niṣprayatnaṃ surānīkaṃ varjayitvā gadādharam

Verse 30

स हि युद्धगतः श्रीमान् ईशो न स्म व्यकम्पत सहिष्णुत्वाज् जगत्स्वामी न चुक्रोध गदाधरः

sa hi yuddhagataḥ śrīmān īśo na sma vyakampata sahiṣṇutvāj jagatsvāmī na cukrodha gadādharaḥ

Verse 31

कालज्ञः कालमेघाभः समीक्षन् कालम् आहवे देवासुरविमर्दं स द्रष्टुकामो जनार्दनः

kālajñaḥ kālameghābhaḥ samīkṣan kālam āhave devāsuravimardaṃ sa draṣṭukāmo janārdanaḥ

Verse 32

ततो भगवतादिष्टौ रणे पावकमारुतौ मायाया मयसृष्टायाः प्रवृद्धायाः शमाय वै ततः प्रवृद्धाव् अन्योन्यं प्रवृद्धज्वालवेगिनौ चोदितौ विष्णुवाक्येन तौ मायाम् अपकर्षताम्

tato bhagavatādiṣṭau raṇe pāvakamārutau māyāyā mayasṛṣṭāyāḥ pravṛddhāyāḥ śamāya vai tataḥ pravṛddhāv anyonyaṃ pravṛddhajvālaveginau coditau viṣṇuvākyena tau māyām apakarṣatām

Verse 33

ताभ्याम् उद्भ्रान्तमेघाभ्यां प्रवृद्धाभ्यां महामृधे दग्धा सा पार्वती माया भस्मभूता ननाश ह

tābhyām udbhrāntameghābhyāṃ pravṛddhābhyāṃ mahāmṛdhe dagdhā sā pārvatī māyā bhasmabhūtā nanāśa ha

Verse 34

सो ऽनलो ऽनिलसंयुक्तः सो ऽनिलश् चानलाकुलः दैत्यसेनां ददहतुर् युगान्तेष्व् इव मूर्च्छितौ

so 'nalo 'nilasaṃyuktaḥ so 'nilaś cānalākulaḥ daityasenāṃ dadahatur yugānteṣv iva mūrcchitau

Verse 35

वायुः प्रधावितस् तत्र पश्चाद् अग्निश् च मारुतात् चेरतुर् दानवानीके क्रीडन्ताव् अनिलानलौ

vāyuḥ pradhāvitas tatra paścād agniś ca mārutāt ceratur dānavānīke krīḍantāv anilānalau

Verse 36

भस्मावयवभूतेषु प्रपतत्सूत्पतत्सु च दानवानां विमानेषु विमानेषु समन्ततः

bhasmāvayavabhūteṣu prapatatsūtpatatsu ca dānavānāṃ vimāneṣu vimāneṣu samantataḥ

Verse 37

वातस्कन्धापविद्धेषु कृतकर्मणि पावके मायावधे विनिर्वृत्ते स्तूयमाने गदाधरे

vātaskandhāpaviddheṣu kṛtakarmaṇi pāvake māyāvadhe vinirvṛtte stūyamāne gadādhare

Verse 38

निष्प्रयत्नेषु दैत्येषु त्रैलोक्ये मुक्तबन्धने संप्रहृष्टेषु देवेषु साधु साध्व् इति सर्वशः

niṣprayatneṣu daityeṣu trailokye muktabandhane saṃprahṛṣṭeṣu deveṣu sādhu sādhv iti sarvaśaḥ

Verse 39

जये दशशताक्षस्य मयस्य च पराजये दिक्षु सर्वासु शुद्धासु प्रवृत्ते धर्मसंस्तरे

jaye daśaśatākṣasya mayasya ca parājaye dikṣu sarvāsu śuddhāsu pravṛtte dharmasaṃstare

Verse 40

अपावृते चन्द्रपथे स्वयनस्थे दिवाकरे प्रकृतिस्थेषु लोकेषु नृषु चारित्रबन्धुषु

apāvṛte candrapathe svayanasthe divākare prakṛtistheṣu lokeṣu nṛṣu cāritrabandhuṣu

Verse 41

विराजमाना देवास् तु ततो मुनिगणैः सह अभिन्नबन्धने मृत्यौ हूयमाने हुताशने यज्ञशोभिषु देवेषु स्वर्गार्थं दर्शयत्सु च

virājamānā devās tu tato munigaṇaiḥ saha abhinnabandhane mṛtyau hūyamāne hutāśane yajñaśobhiṣu deveṣu svargārthaṃ darśayatsu ca

Verse 42

लोकपालेषु सर्वेषु दिक्षु संयानवर्तिषु भावे तपसि शुद्धानाम् अभावे पापकर्मणाम्

lokapāleṣu sarveṣu dikṣu saṃyānavartiṣu bhāve tapasi śuddhānām abhāve pāpakarmaṇām

Verse 43

देवपक्षे प्रमुदिते दैत्यपक्षे विषीदति त्रिपादविग्रहे धर्मे अधर्मे पादविग्रहे

devapakṣe pramudite daityapakṣe viṣīdati tripādavigrahe dharme adharme pādavigrahe

Verse 44

अपावृते महाद्वारे वर्तमाने च सत्पथे स्वधर्मस्थेषु वर्णेषु लोके ऽस्मिन्न् आश्रमेषु च

apāvṛte mahādvāre vartamāne ca satpathe svadharmastheṣu varṇeṣu loke 'sminn āśrameṣu ca

Verse 45

प्रजारक्षणयुक्तेषु भ्राजमानेषु राजसु गीयमानासु गाथासु देवसंस्तवनादिषु प्रशान्तकल्मषे लोके शान्ते तमसि दारुणे

prajārakṣaṇayukteṣu bhrājamāneṣu rājasu gīyamānāsu gāthāsu devasaṃstavanādiṣu praśāntakalmaṣe loke śānte tamasi dāruṇe

Verse 46

अग्निमारुतयोस् तस्मिन् वृत्ते संग्रामकर्मणि तन्मया विमला लोकास् ताभ्यां जयकृतक्रियाः

agnimārutayos tasmin vṛtte saṃgrāmakarmaṇi tanmayā vimalā lokās tābhyāṃ jayakṛtakriyāḥ

Verse 47

पूर्वदेवभयं श्रुत्वा मारुताग्निभयं महत् कालनेमिर् इति ख्यातो दानवः प्रत्यदृश्यत

pūrvadevabhayaṃ śrutvā mārutāgnibhayaṃ mahat kālanemir iti khyāto dānavaḥ pratyadṛśyata

Verse 48

भास्कराकारमुकुटः शिञ्जिताभरणाङ्गदः मन्दरोत्कीर्णसंकाशो महारजतसंवृतः

bhāskarākāramukuṭaḥ śiñjitābharaṇāṅgadaḥ mandarotkīrṇasaṃkāśo mahārajatasaṃvṛtaḥ

Verse 49

शतप्रहरणोदग्रः शतबाहुः शताननः शतशीर्षः स्थितः श्रीमाञ् शतशृङ्ग इवाचलः कक्षे महति संवृद्धो निदाघ इव पावकः

śatapraharaṇodagraḥ śatabāhuḥ śatānanaḥ śataśīrṣaḥ sthitaḥ śrīmāñ śataśṛṅga ivācalaḥ kakṣe mahati saṃvṛddho nidāgha iva pāvakaḥ

Verse 50

धूम्रकेशो हरिश्मश्रुर् दंष्ट्रालौष्ठपुटाननः त्रैलोक्यान्तरविस्तारि धारयन् विपुलं वपुः

dhūmrakeśo hariśmaśrur daṃṣṭrālauṣṭhapuṭānanaḥ trailokyāntaravistāri dhārayan vipulaṃ vapuḥ

Verse 51

बाहुभिस् तुलयन् व्योम क्षिपन् पद्भ्यां महीधरान् ईरयन् मुखनिःश्वासैर् वृष्टिमन्तो बलाहकान्

bāhubhis tulayan vyoma kṣipan padbhyāṃ mahīdharān īrayan mukhaniḥśvāsair vṛṣṭimanto balāhakān

Verse 52

तिर्यगायतरक्ताक्षं मन्दरोदग्रवक्षसम् दिधक्षन्तम् इवायान्तं सर्वान् देवगणान् मृधे

tiryagāyataraktākṣaṃ mandarodagravakṣasam didhakṣantam ivāyāntaṃ sarvān devagaṇān mṛdhe

Verse 53

तर्जयन्तं सुरगणांश् छादयन्तं दिशो दश संवर्तकाले तृषितं दृप्तं मृत्युम् इवोत्थितम्

tarjayantaṃ suragaṇāṃś chādayantaṃ diśo daśa saṃvartakāle tṛṣitaṃ dṛptaṃ mṛtyum ivotthitam

Verse 54

सुतलेनोच्छ्रयवता विपुलाङ्गुलिपर्वणा लम्बाभरणपूर्णेन किंचिच् चलितवर्मणा

sutalenocchrayavatā vipulāṅguliparvaṇā lambābharaṇapūrṇena kiṃcic calitavarmaṇā

Verse 55

उच्छ्रितेनाग्रहस्तेन दक्षिणेन वपुष्मता दानवान् देवनिहतान् उत्तिष्ठत इति ब्रुवन्

ucchritenāgrahastena dakṣiṇena vapuṣmatā dānavān devanihatān uttiṣṭhata iti bruvan

Verse 56

तं कालनेमिं समरे द्विषतां कालसंमितम् वीक्षन्ति स्म सुराः सर्वे भयवित्रस्तलोचनाः

taṃ kālanemiṃ samare dviṣatāṃ kālasaṃmitam vīkṣanti sma surāḥ sarve bhayavitrastalocanāḥ

Verse 57

तं स्म वीक्षन्ति भूतानि क्रमन्तं कालनेमिनम् त्रिविक्रमे विक्रमन्तं नारायणम् इवापरम्

taṃ sma vīkṣanti bhūtāni kramantaṃ kālaneminam trivikrame vikramantaṃ nārāyaṇam ivāparam

Verse 58

सोच्छ्रयन् प्रथमं पादं मारुताघूर्णिताम्बरम् प्राक्रामदसुरो युद्धे त्रासयन् सर्वदेवताः

socchrayan prathamaṃ pādaṃ mārutāghūrṇitāmbaram prākrāmadasuro yuddhe trāsayan sarvadevatāḥ

Verse 59

स मयेनासुरेन्द्रेण परिष्वक्तः क्रमन् रणे कालनेमिर् बभौ दैत्यः सविष्णुर् इव मन्दरः

sa mayenāsurendreṇa pariṣvaktaḥ kraman raṇe kālanemir babhau daityaḥ saviṣṇur iva mandaraḥ

Verse 60

अथ प्रविव्यथुर् देवाः सर्वे शक्रपुरोगमाः दृष्ट्वा कालम् इवायान्तं कालनेमिं भयावहम्

atha pravivyathur devāḥ sarve śakrapurogamāḥ dṛṣṭvā kālam ivāyāntaṃ kālanemiṃ bhayāvaham

Then all the gods, with Śakra at the head, were distressed, seeing the fear-maker Kālanemi coming like Time himself.

Verse commentary

Soma Cools the Aurva Fire; Kālanemi Enters

सोमेन और्वी-माया-शमनम् — कालनेमि-आगमश् च

Verses 1, 3, 10, 15, 22, 30, 60: Indra dispatching Soma, the cold-weaponed, to the battle's front, the Soma-hymn 'the rasa of all worlds is Soma', Indra's instruction 'go cool the asurī-māyā that burns us', the two water-lords Soma and Varuṇa fighting with frost and noose like ocean-churning, the demon Maya's cosmic-mountain weapon, Viṣṇu the unmoved Gadādhara who — out of *sahiṣṇutva* — does not become wrathful even in battle, and the terrible final appearance of Kālanemi 'like Time itself coming'. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

HV 36 is the counter-move to HV 35's Aurva māyā. Indra, remembering the burning, dispatches Soma — the Moon, cold-weaponed (*śiśira-āyudham*) — to the battle's front (36.1). A long Soma-hymn praises him as *ap-jayoniḥ* (water-born), *oṣadhīśaḥ* (lord of plants), *amṛta-ādhāraḥ* (receptacle of amṛta); the hymn's theological climax is *tvan-mayaṃ sarva-lokānāṃ rasam* — 'the rasa of all the worlds is of you' (36.3). Soma joined with Varuṇa (36.15) enters the demon-mass as *dvāv ambu-nāthau* — 'two water-lords' — and their *pāśa-hima* (noose-and-frost) freezes the dānavas like *vi-śiraska adrayaḥ* — 'headless mountains' (36.18). Maya retaliates with a mountain-weapon — rocks, boulder-waterfalls, trees (36.22–25). Into this chaos the chapter places its theological pearl at 36.30: the Lord in battle is *īśo na sma vyakampata, sahiṣṇutvāt na cukrodha gadādharaḥ* — 'the Lord did not waver; out of forbearance, the mace-bearer did not become wrathful'. Vāyu and Agni then take the field (36.35) like two playmates. The chapter ends ominously: Kālanemi, *kālam iva āyāntam*, 'Time-itself-approaching', comes forth, and even the Śakra-led devas tremble (36.60). The setup is complete for Viṣṇu's decisive intervention in HV 37.

HV 36.1

एवम् अस्त्व् इति संहृष्टः शक्रस् त्रिदशवर्धनः । संदिदेशाग्रतः सोमं युद्धाय शिशिरायुधम् ॥

evam astv iti saṃhṛṣṭaḥ śakras tri-daśa-vardhanaḥ | saṃdideśāgrataḥ somaṃ yuddhāya śiśirāyudham

'So be it' — Śakra, thriller of the gods, in gladness dispatched Soma the cold-weaponed to the front for battle.

The Living Words

*Evam astu iti saṃhṛṣṭaḥ*, 'in gladness [saying] so be it'. *Śakras tri-daśa-vardhanaḥ*, 'Śakra, thriller of the thirty-and-three [devas]'. *Saṃdideśāgrataḥ somam*, 'dispatched Soma to the front'. *Yuddhāya śiśirāyudham*, 'for battle, the cold-weaponed'.

The Heart of It

The answer to a fire-weapon (HV 35's Aurva māyā) is not a counter-fire; it is a *śiśira* — a coolness. Soma is dispatched as *śiśira-āyudha*, the 'cold-weaponed'. The Warkari reading is tactical and spiritual at once: the heat of rajasic war does not yield to more rajas; it yields to *śītala* — cool shelter. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 6 *nāma-candra-śītala* — 'the Name, cool as the moon' — is HV 36.1's dispatch-order turned domestic. The devotee sends the Name to the battle-front; the Name is *śiśira-āyudha*. What was true in the cosmic field is true in the human field.

HV 36.3

त्वम् अप्रतिमवीर्यश् च ज्योतिषां चेश्वरेश्वरः । त्वन्मयं सर्वलोकानां रसं रसविदो विदुः ॥

tvam apratima-vīryaś ca jyotiṣāṃ ceśvareśvaraḥ | tvan-mayaṃ sarva-lokānāṃ rasaṃ rasa-vido viduḥ

You are of unrivaled valor and the Lord-of-lords of the lights; those who know *rasa* know that the rasa of all the worlds is made of you.

The Living Words

*Apratima-vīryaḥ*, 'unrivaled in valor'. *Jyotiṣām īśvareśvaraḥ*, 'lord-of-lords of the lights'. *Tvan-mayaṃ sarva-lokānāṃ rasam*, 'the rasa of all worlds is of you'. *Rasa-vido viduḥ*, 'those who know rasa know [this]'.

The Heart of It

Soma is *rasa* — both sap, juice, savor, and essence. The verse claims *rasa-vido viduḥ* — 'the connoisseurs of rasa know'. The Warkari tradition is a tradition of *rasa*-tasters. Jñāneśvar's own commentary tradition is called *rasa-yātrā*. The Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 15 *nāma-rasa niṣkhalanka* — 'the Name-rasa stainless' — places the connoisseurship in the Name: to know the Name is to be a *rasa-vid*. And HV 36.3's claim that *sarva-lokānāṃ rasaṃ tvan-mayam* — 'all the worlds' rasa is made of Soma' — is the cosmological warrant for the Haripāṭh's confidence: the juice the saint tastes in the Name is not a local flavor; it is the *rasa of every world*.

HV 36.10

तद् गच्छ त्वं सहानेन वरुणेन वरूथिना । शमयस्वासुरीं मायां यया दह्याम संयुगे ॥

tad gaccha tvaṃ sahānena varuṇena varūthinā | śamayasvāsurīṃ māyāṃ yayā dahyāma saṃyuge

Therefore go with this Varuṇa the armored one; cool the asurī-māyā by which we are being burned in the combat.

The Living Words

*Tad gaccha*, 'therefore go'. *Sahānena varuṇena varūthinā*, 'with this armored Varuṇa'. *Śamayasvāsurīṃ māyām*, 'cool the asurī-māyā'. *Yayā dahyāma saṃyuge*, 'by which we are burned in battle'.

The Heart of It

The verb is *śamayasva* — 'cool, quiet, pacify'. Indra does not tell Soma to destroy the māyā; he tells him to *śamayasva*, 'pacify' it. The Warkari reading notices this with joy. The strategy against illusion is not opposition; it is pacification. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 28 *nāma-śānti-kāraka* — 'the Name that produces śānti' — names exactly this operation. The Name does not *fight* the mind; it *quiets* the mind, and the mind's māyā dissolves for want of heat. *Śama* is the whole ethic of Warkari sādhanā. HV 36.10 is that ethic spoken by Indra to Soma.

HV 36.15

द्वाव् अम्बुनाथौ समरे तौ पाशहिमयोधिनौ । मृधे चेरतुर् अम्भोभिः क्षुब्धाव् इव महार्णवौ ॥

dvāv ambu-nāthau samare tau pāśa-hima-yodhinau | mṛdhe ceratur ambhobhiḥ kṣubdhāv iva mahārṇavau

The two water-lords in combat, fighters with noose and frost, moved in the battle with waters — like two churned great-oceans.

The Living Words

*Dvāv ambu-nāthau*, 'the two water-lords'. *Pāśa-hima-yodhinau*, 'fighters-with-noose-and-frost'. *Mṛdhe ceratur ambhobhiḥ*, 'moved in battle with waters'. *Kṣubdhāv iva mahārṇavau*, 'like two churned great-oceans'.

The Heart of It

The image is beautiful and cosmological: Soma and Varuṇa fight as *dvāv ambu-nāthau* — 'two water-lords'. Their weapons are *pāśa* (Varuṇa's cosmic noose) and *hima* (Soma's frost). Water binds; water cools. The Warkari tradition's pilgrimage rests on water-imagery: the Chandrabhāgā at Paṇḍharpūr, the Indrāyaṇī at Āḷandī-Dehū, the Godāvarī. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 16 *tīrtha-rāja prayāg* — 'prayāg, king of tīrthas' — honors the same water-principle that HV 36.15 puts to cosmic use. And *kṣubdhāv iva mahārṇavau* — 'like two churned oceans' — recalls the Samudra-Manthana: the ocean under churning yielded both poison and amṛta. The *śama* of HV 36.10 is the *amṛta* of that churning in present-tense action.

HV 36.22

स शिलाजालविततां गण्डशैलाट्टहासिनीम् । पादपोत्कटकूटाग्रां कन्दराकीर्णकाननाम् ॥

sa śilā-jāla-vitatāṃ gaṇḍa-śaila-aṭṭa-hāsinīm | pādap-otkaṭa-kūṭāgrāṃ kandarā-kīrṇa-kānanām

He [threw up a mountain] spread with nets-of-stones, loud-laughing with boulder-peaks, its crests thick with trees, its groves filled with caves.

The Living Words

*Śilā-jāla-vitatām*, 'spread with a net of stones'. *Gaṇḍa-śaila-aṭṭa-hāsinīm*, 'loud-laughing with boulder-peaks'. *Pādapa-utkaṭa-kūṭāgrām*, 'crests thick with trees'. *Kandarā-kīrṇa-kānanām*, 'groves filled with caves'.

The Heart of It

Maya answers water with earth: he throws up a *mountain* as weapon — a cosmological inversion. The mountain's epithet *aṭṭa-hāsinīm* — 'loud-laughing' — is demonic delight. The Warkari reading places this verse against HV 33.20 (Ariṣṭa with rock-slab) and 35.18 (the tāmasī māyā) as the third face of asuric power: the misuse of the *world's own body*. The Lord's Govardhana-lifting in HV 77 will answer this exactly: the mountain lifted on a finger is the same mountain *redeemed*. Where HV 36.22 has mountains laughing loud as weapons, the Govardhana chapter will have the mountain quiet as shelter. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 24 *giridhārī mukuṭa-manḍita* — 'mountain-lifter, crown-adorned' — is HV 36.22's answer promised in a single epithet.

HV 36.30

स हि युद्धगतः श्रीमान् ईशो न स्म व्यकम्पत । सहिष्णुत्वाज् जगत्स्वामी न चुक्रोध गदाधरः ॥

sa hi yuddha-gataḥ śrīmān īśo na sma vyakampata | sahiṣṇutvāj jagat-svāmī na cukrodha gadādharaḥ

For that glorious Īśa, gone to battle, did not waver; out of forbearance, the Master-of-the-World, the mace-bearer, did not become wrathful.

The Living Words

*Sa hi yuddha-gataḥ śrīmān īśaḥ*, 'for that glorious Īśa, gone to battle'. *Na sma vyakampata*, 'did not waver'. *Sahiṣṇutvāt*, 'out of forbearance'. *Jagat-svāmī na cukrodha gadādharaḥ*, 'the Lord-of-world, the mace-bearer, did not become wrathful'.

The Heart of It

This is HV 36's theological pearl. In the middle of a cosmic war, the Lord is described by *negations*: *na vyakampata, na cukrodha* — 'did not waver, did not become wrathful'. The positive word is *sahiṣṇutva* — 'forbearance, the capacity to bear'. The Warkari reading: the Lord's valor is not in his anger but in his *sahiṣṇutva*. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 21 *kṣamārūpa hari* — 'Hari in the form of kṣamā (forgiveness)' — is the same characterization in bhakti-mode. The Gadādhara (mace-bearer) does not swing the mace out of anger; the mace is carried, but the wrath is withheld. This is the crucial distinction: the Lord's power and the Lord's composure are not at odds; the one is held inside the other. The devotee's highest ethic is this doubled posture — armed with a Name, unshaken.

HV 36.60

अथ प्रविव्यथुर् देवाः सर्वे शक्रपुरोगमाः । दृष्ट्वा कालम् इवायान्तं कालनेमिं भयावहम् ॥

atha pravivyathur devāḥ sarve śakra-puro-gamāḥ | dṛṣṭvā kālam ivāyāntaṃ kāla-nemiṃ bhaya-āvaham

Then all the devas, Śakra in front, were shaken — seeing the fearsome Kālanemi coming like Time itself approaching.

The Living Words

*Atha pravivyathuḥ devāḥ*, 'then the devas were shaken'. *Sarve śakra-puro-gamāḥ*, 'all, with Śakra in front'. *Dṛṣṭvā kālam iva āyāntam*, 'seeing Time itself approaching'. *Kāla-nemiṃ bhaya-āvaham*, 'Kālanemi, fear-bringing'.

The Heart of It

The chapter closes on a terrifying image. Kālanemi — 'the rim of Time' — appears as *kālam iva āyāntam*, 'Time itself approaching'. Even Indra trembles. The Warkari reading holds this with steady attention: *kāla* is always approaching. Death and decay are daily companions, not exceptional enemies. The Haripāṭh's constant attentiveness to *kāla* — Jñāneśvar's Abhaṅga 18 *kāla-rūpī kāḷa bhajē* — 'the time-bearer, worship him as time' — is the devotional answer. The devotee does not pretend Kālanemi has not come; he names the fear and then names the Lord who will meet it. The chapter ends on the fear so that HV 37 can open on the remedy. Composition is theology: the chapter structures itself around the Lord who does not waver (36.30) and Time-itself-approaching (36.60). The remedy is already implicit in the midpoint verse.

Thread

HV 36 is the cooling chapter. Fire-māyā meets frost-weapon; *śamayasva* is the instruction; *śiśirāyudha* the tool; *rasa* the Soma-principle that tastes all worlds at once. The chapter's center (36.30) gives its theological key: the Lord in battle is *na vyakampata, na cukrodha* — unwavering, un-angered — out of *sahiṣṇutva*. The chapter ends on Kālanemi's appearance 'like Time itself coming', so that the next chapter can show what happens when Time-itself meets Him-who-does-not-waver. The Warkari reading treats the whole chapter as a manual for *śama*: the Name pacifies the māyā; water cools the Aurva-fire; *kṣamā* is the Lord's proper weapon even when the mace is in hand.

Echo in the saints

Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 6 *nāma-candra-śītala* is HV 36.1's Soma-dispatch in devotional form: the Name as *śiśirāyudha* sent to the burning front. Tukārām's *kṣamā-dhairya dharmā-cā pāyā* — 'forbearance and firmness are the foundation of dharma' — walks out of HV 36.30's *sahiṣṇutvāt na cukrodha gadādharaḥ*. And the Haripāṭh's refrain *rāma-kṛṣṇa-hari* chanted in the midst of trouble — not shouted, not angered — is the Warkari's daily enactment of the Lord's *na vyakampata*. The chapter's closing trembling at Kālanemi is held by the Haripāṭh's *kāla-rūpī kāḷa bhajē*: the devotee does not dodge Time; he worships it as a face of the Lord, which is the only thing that leaves it no room to approach.

Scripture references

DirectBhagavad Gītā 2.56

The Lord's unwavering composure in battle is Kṛṣṇa's own self-description on Kurukṣetra.

दुःखेष्व् अनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः । वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर् मुनिर् उच्यते ॥

duḥkheṣv anudvigna-manāḥ sukheṣu vigata-spṛhaḥ | vīta-rāga-bhaya-krodhaḥ sthita-dhīr munir ucyate

Unshaken in mind amid sorrows, longing-free amid pleasures, free of passion-fear-wrath — he is called the stable-minded sage.

HV 36.30's *na vyakampata... na cukrodha gadādharaḥ* is Gītā 2.56's *sthita-dhīr munir* at the scale of the Lord himself. The Warkari tradition reads the Gītā's definition and the Harivaṃśa's narrative as one: the Lord models what the devotee is to become, and HV 36.30 is the model enacted in battle-scenery.

EchoesBhagavad Gītā 6.20

The remedy for blazing māyā is śama, not counter-fire — the Gītā's same prescription.

यत्रोपरमते चित्तं निरुद्धं योगसेवया । यत्र चैवात्मनात्मानं पश्यन्न् आत्मनि तुष्यति ॥

yatroparamate cittaṃ niruddhaṃ yoga-sevayā | yatra caivātmanātmānaṃ paśyann ātmani tuṣyati

Where the mind comes to rest, restrained by the practice of yoga; where, seeing the Self by the self, he delights in the Self.

Indra's instruction *śamayasva asurīṃ māyām* (36.10) and Gītā 6.20's *yatra uparamate cittaṃ niruddhaṃ yoga-sevayā* are one prescription: pacification, not counter-aggression. The Warkari tradition reads the cosmic Soma-dispatch as the outer image of the devotee's inner yoga of quieting.

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