राम

Harivaṃśa-parva

Harivaṃśa · Adhyāya 42

53 versesThe Earth's Request

Synopsis

Brahmā and the earth set out together, both serious, their voices full of rain-cloud thunder. The Lord Hari comes dark, with his locks wet, shining like the moon in a rain cloud. A huge battle unfolds between two asuras and the devas, year upon year, thousands of years, the asuras unwearied. At the chapter's end the earth, carrying the weight of it, asks: "If the weight is to be laid down, let Viṣṇu himself say so to me." She has come in search of refuge.

First-pass synopsis; pending review by a Sanskritist.

Verse commentary below

Madhu-Kaiṭabha Retold; Pṛthivī Asks for a Husband-King: Verses 1, 12, 15, 18, 30, 45, 53: Brahmā the *viśvātma* arriving with Pṛthivī like a rain-cloud-mountain, Vāyu announcing *mā śabdaḥ* — silence in the divine sabhā, the ear-passages of sleeping Viṣṇu birthing Madhu and Kaiṭabha, the Lord's naming of the two — the soft-one Madhu and the hard-one Kaiṭabha, Viṣṇu crushing them both in his arms, Pṛthivī's request 'give me a husband-king equal to you, who will protect me, the sea-garlanded earth', and her closing plea 'I have come for shelter, burned by the burden — let Viṣṇu himself say whether the burden is to be laid down'. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

Verse 1

एतावद् उक्त्वा राजेन्द्र ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः पृथिव्या सह विश्वात्मा विरराम महाद्युतिः बाढम् इत्य् एव सह तैर् दुर्दिनाम्भोदनिस्वनः प्रतस्थे दुर्दिनाकारः सदुर्दिन इवाचलः

etāvad uktvā rājendra brahmā lokapitāmahaḥ pṛthivyā saha viśvātmā virarāma mahādyutiḥ bāḍham ity eva saha tair durdināmbhodanisvanaḥ pratasthe durdinākāraḥ sadurdina ivācalaḥ

Having said this much, O king-of-kings, Brahmā, the grandfather of the world, together with the earth — the Self of all, of great splendor — set out. 'So be it,' and together with them, of rain-cloud thunder, of rainy-day form, he proceeded…

Verse 2

समुक्तामणिविद्योतं सचन्द्राम्भोदवर्चसम् स जतामण्डलं कृष्णं बिभ्रत् कृष्णवपुर् हरिः

samuktāmaṇividyotaṃ sacandrāmbhodavarcasam sa jatāmaṇḍalaṃ kṛṣṇaṃ bibhrat kṛṣṇavapur hariḥ

Verse 3

स चास्योरसि विस्तीर्णे रोमाञ्चोद्गतराजिमान् श्रीवत्सो राजते श्रीमान् स्तनद्वयमुखाञ्चितः

sa cāsyorasi vistīrṇe romāñcodgatarājimān śrīvatso rājate śrīmān stanadvayamukhāñcitaḥ

Verse 4

पीते वसानो वसने लोकानां गुरुर् अव्ययः हरिः सो ऽभवद् आलक्ष्यः ससंध्याभ्र इवाचलः

pīte vasāno vasane lokānāṃ gurur avyayaḥ hariḥ so 'bhavad ālakṣyaḥ sasaṃdhyābhra ivācalaḥ

Verse 5

तं व्रजन्तं सुपर्णेन पद्मयोनिगतानुगम् अनुजग्मुः सुराः सर्वे तद्गतासक्तचक्षुषः

taṃ vrajantaṃ suparṇena padmayonigatānugam anujagmuḥ surāḥ sarve tadgatāsaktacakṣuṣaḥ

Verse 6

नातिदीर्घेण कालेन ते गता रत्नपर्वतम् ददृशुर् देवतास् तत्र स्वां सभां कामरूपिणीम्

nātidīrgheṇa kālena te gatā ratnaparvatam dadṛśur devatās tatra svāṃ sabhāṃ kāmarūpiṇīm

Verse 7

मेरोः शिखरविन्यस्तां संसक्तां सूर्यवर्चसा काञ्चनस्तम्भचरणां वज्रसंघाततोरणाम्

meroḥ śikharavinyastāṃ saṃsaktāṃ sūryavarcasā kāñcanastambhacaraṇāṃ vajrasaṃghātatoraṇām

Verse 8

मनोनिर्माणचित्राढ्यां विमानाकुलमालिनीम् रत्नजालान्तरवतीं कामगां रत्नभूषिताम्

manonirmāṇacitrāḍhyāṃ vimānākulamālinīm ratnajālāntaravatīṃ kāmagāṃ ratnabhūṣitām

Verse 9

कॢप्तरत्नसमाकीर्णां सर्वर्तुकुसुमोत्कटाम् मणिप्रवालसोपानां वैदूर्यमणिशोभिताम् मुक्ताजालसमाकीर्णां किंकिणीशतशोभिताम् देवमायाधरां दिव्यां निर्मितां विश्वकर्मणा

kḷptaratnasamākīrṇāṃ sarvartukusumotkaṭām maṇipravālasopānāṃ vaidūryamaṇiśobhitām muktājālasamākīrṇāṃ kiṃkiṇīśataśobhitām devamāyādharāṃ divyāṃ nirmitāṃ viśvakarmaṇā

Verse 10

तां हृष्टमनसः सर्वे यथास्थानं यथावयः यथानिदेशं त्रिदशा विविशुस् ते सभां शुभाम्

tāṃ hṛṣṭamanasaḥ sarve yathāsthānaṃ yathāvayaḥ yathānideśaṃ tridaśā viviśus te sabhāṃ śubhām

Verse 11

ते निषेदुर् यथोक्तेषु विमानेष्व् आसनेषु च भद्रासनेषु पीठेषु कुथास्व् आस्तरणेषु च

te niṣedur yathokteṣu vimāneṣv āsaneṣu ca bhadrāsaneṣu pīṭheṣu kuthāsv āstaraṇeṣu ca

Verse 12

ततः प्रभञ्जनो वायुर् ब्रह्मणा साधु चोदितः मा शब्द इति सर्वत्र प्रचक्राम सभां शुभाम्

tataḥ prabhañjano vāyur brahmaṇā sādhu coditaḥ mā śabda iti sarvatra pracakrāma sabhāṃ śubhām

Verse 13

निःशब्दे स्तिमिते तस्मिन् समाजे त्रिदिवौकसाम् बभाषे धरणी वाक्यं स्वेदात् करुणभाषिणी

niḥśabde stimite tasmin samāje tridivaukasām babhāṣe dharaṇī vākyaṃ svedāt karuṇabhāṣiṇī

Verse 14

त्वया धार्या त्व् अहं देव त्वया वै धार्यते जगत् त्वं धारयसि भूतानि भुवनं त्वं बिभर्षि च यत् त्वया धार्यते किंचित् तेजसा च बलेन च ततस् तव प्रसादेन मया पश्चात् तु धार्यते त्वया धृतं धारयामि नाधृतं धारयाम्य् अहम् न हि तद् विद्यते भूतं यत् त्वया नानुधार्यते त्वम् एव कुरुषे देव नारायण युगे युगे महाभारावतरणं जगतो हितकाम्यया तवैव तेजसा क्रान्तां रसातलतलं गताम् त्रायस्व मां सुरश्रेष्ठ तवैव शरणं गताम् दानवैः पीड्यमानाहं राक्षसैश् च दुरात्मभिः त्वाम् एव शरणं नित्यम् उपयास्ये सनातनम् तावन् मे ऽस्ति भयं भूयो यावन् न त्वां ककुद्मिनम् शरणं यामि मनसा शतशो ह्य् उपलक्षये अहम् आदौ पुरानेन संक्षिप्ता पद्मयोनिना मां च बध्वा कृतौ पूर्वं मृङ्मयौ द्वौ महासुरौ

tvayā dhāryā tv ahaṃ deva tvayā vai dhāryate jagat tvaṃ dhārayasi bhūtāni bhuvanaṃ tvaṃ bibharṣi ca yat tvayā dhāryate kiṃcit tejasā ca balena ca tatas tava prasādena mayā paścāt tu dhāryate tvayā dhṛtaṃ dhārayāmi nādhṛtaṃ dhārayāmy aham na hi tad vidyate bhūtaṃ yat tvayā nānudhāryate tvam eva kuruṣe deva nārāyaṇa yuge yuge mahābhārāvataraṇaṃ jagato hitakāmyayā tavaiva tejasā krāntāṃ rasātalatalaṃ gatām trāyasva māṃ suraśreṣṭha tavaiva śaraṇaṃ gatām dānavaiḥ pīḍyamānāhaṃ rākṣasaiś ca durātmabhiḥ tvām eva śaraṇaṃ nityam upayāsye sanātanam tāvan me 'sti bhayaṃ bhūyo yāvan na tvāṃ kakudminam śaraṇaṃ yāmi manasā śataśo hy upalakṣaye aham ādau purānena saṃkṣiptā padmayoninā māṃ ca badhvā kṛtau pūrvaṃ mṛṅmayau dvau mahāsurau

Verse 15

कर्णस्रोतोद्भवौ तौ हि विष्णोर् अस्य महात्मनः महार्णवे प्रस्वपतः काष्ठकुड्यसमौ स्थितौ

karṇasrotodbhavau tau hi viṣṇor asya mahātmanaḥ mahārṇave prasvapataḥ kāṣṭhakuḍyasamau sthitau

Verse 16

तौ विवेश स्वयं वायुर् ब्रह्मणा साधु चोदितः तौ दिवं छादयन्तौ तु ववृधाते महासुरौ

tau viveśa svayaṃ vāyur brahmaṇā sādhu coditaḥ tau divaṃ chādayantau tu vavṛdhāte mahāsurau

Verse 17

वायुप्राणौ तु तौ गृह्य ब्रह्मा परिमृश्यञ् शनैः एकं मृदुतरं मेने कठिनं वेद चापरम्

vāyuprāṇau tu tau gṛhya brahmā parimṛśyañ śanaiḥ ekaṃ mṛdutaraṃ mene kaṭhinaṃ veda cāparam

Verse 18

नामनी तु तयोश् चक्रे स विभुः सलिलोद्भवः मृदुस् त्व् अयं मधुर् नाम कठिनः कैटभो ऽभवत्

nāmanī tu tayoś cakre sa vibhuḥ salilodbhavaḥ mṛdus tv ayaṃ madhur nāma kaṭhinaḥ kaiṭabho 'bhavat

Verse 19

तौ दैत्यौ कृतनामानौ चेरतुर् बलदर्पितौ सर्वम् एकार्णवं लोकं योद्धुकामौ सुनिर्भयौ

tau daityau kṛtanāmānau ceratur baladarpitau sarvam ekārṇavaṃ lokaṃ yoddhukāmau sunirbhayau

Verse 20

ताव् आगतौ समालोक्य ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः एकार्णवाम्बुनिचये तत्रैवानतरधीयत

tāv āgatau samālokya brahmā lokapitāmahaḥ ekārṇavāmbunicaye tatraivānataradhīyata

Verse 21

स पद्मे पद्मनाभस्य नाभिमध्याद् समुत्थिते रोचयाम् आस वसतिं गुह्यां ब्रह्मा चतुर्मुखः

sa padme padmanābhasya nābhimadhyād samutthite rocayām āsa vasatiṃ guhyāṃ brahmā caturmukhaḥ

Verse 22

ताव् उभौ जलगर्भस्थौ नारायणपितामहौ बहून् वर्षगणान् अप्सु शयानौ न चकम्पतुः

tāv ubhau jalagarbhasthau nārāyaṇapitāmahau bahūn varṣagaṇān apsu śayānau na cakampatuḥ

Verse 23

अथ दीर्घस्य कालस्य ताव् उभौ मधुकैटभौ आजग्मतुस् तम् उद्देशं यत्र ब्रह्मा व्यवस्थितः

atha dīrghasya kālasya tāv ubhau madhukaiṭabhau ājagmatus tam uddeśaṃ yatra brahmā vyavasthitaḥ

Verse 24

दृष्ट्वा ताव् असुरौ घोरौ महान्तौ युद्धदुर्मदौ ब्रह्मणा ताडितो विष्णुः पद्मनालेन वै पुरा उत्पपाताशु शयनात् पद्मनाभो महाद्युतिः

dṛṣṭvā tāv asurau ghorau mahāntau yuddhadurmadau brahmaṇā tāḍito viṣṇuḥ padmanālena vai purā utpapātāśu śayanāt padmanābho mahādyutiḥ

Verse 25

तद् युद्धम् अभवद् घोरं तयोस् तस्य च वै तदा एकार्णवे तदा लोके त्रैलोक्ये जलतां गते

tad yuddham abhavad ghoraṃ tayos tasya ca vai tadā ekārṇave tadā loke trailokye jalatāṃ gate

Verse 26

तद् अभूत् तुमुलं युद्धं वर्षसंख्याः सहस्रशः न च ताव् असुरौ युद्धे तदा श्रमम् अवापतुः

tad abhūt tumulaṃ yuddhaṃ varṣasaṃkhyāḥ sahasraśaḥ na ca tāv asurau yuddhe tadā śramam avāpatuḥ

Verse 27

अथ दीर्घस्य कालस्य तौ दैत्यौ युद्धदुर्मदौ ऊचतुः प्रीतमनसौ देवं नारायणं हरिं

atha dīrghasya kālasya tau daityau yuddhadurmadau ūcatuḥ prītamanasau devaṃ nārāyaṇaṃ hariṃ

Verse 28

प्रीतौ स्वस् तव युद्धेन श्लाघ्यस् त्वं मृत्युर् आहवे आवां जहि न यत्रोर्वी जलेन समभिप्लुता

prītau svas tava yuddhena ślāghyas tvaṃ mṛtyur āhave āvāṃ jahi na yatrorvī jalena samabhiplutā

Verse 29

हतौ च तव पुत्रत्वं प्राप्नुयावः सुरोत्तम सो ह्य् आवां युधि निर्जेता तस्यावां विहितौ सुतौ

hatau ca tava putratvaṃ prāpnuyāvaḥ surottama so hy āvāṃ yudhi nirjetā tasyāvāṃ vihitau sutau

Verse 30

स हि गृह्य मृधे दैत्यौ दोर्भ्यां तौ समपीडयत् जन्मतुर् निधनं चापि ताव् उभौ मधुकैटभौ

sa hi gṛhya mṛdhe daityau dorbhyāṃ tau samapīḍayat janmatur nidhanaṃ cāpi tāv ubhau madhukaiṭabhau

Verse 31

ताव् उभाव् आप्लुतौ तोये वपुर्भ्याम् एकतां गतौ मेदो मुमुचतुर् दैत्यौ मथ्यमानौ जलोर्मिभिः

tāv ubhāv āplutau toye vapurbhyām ekatāṃ gatau medo mumucatur daityau mathyamānau jalormibhiḥ

Verse 32

मेदसा तज्जलं व्याप्तं ताभ्यां अन्तर्दधे तदा नारायणश् च भगवान् असृजत् स पुनः प्रजाः

medasā tajjalaṃ vyāptaṃ tābhyāṃ antardadhe tadā nārāyaṇaś ca bhagavān asṛjat sa punaḥ prajāḥ

Verse 33

दैत्ययोर् मेदसा छन्ना मेदिनीति ततः स्मृता प्रभावात् पद्मनाभस्य शाश्वती च नृणां कृता

daityayor medasā channā medinīti tataḥ smṛtā prabhāvāt padmanābhasya śāśvatī ca nṛṇāṃ kṛtā

Verse 34

वराहेण पुनर् भूत्वा मार्कण्डेयस्य पश्यतः विषाणेनाहम् एकेन तोयमध्यात् समुद्धृता

varāheṇa punar bhūtvā mārkaṇḍeyasya paśyataḥ viṣāṇenāham ekena toyamadhyāt samuddhṛtā

Verse 35

हृताहं क्रमता भूयस् तदा युष्माकम् अग्रतः बलेः सकाशाद् दैत्यस्य विष्णुना प्रभविष्णुना

hṛtāhaṃ kramatā bhūyas tadā yuṣmākam agrataḥ baleḥ sakāśād daityasya viṣṇunā prabhaviṣṇunā

Verse 36

सांप्रतं खिद्यमानाहम् एनम् एव गदाधरम् अनाथा जगतो नाथं शरण्यं शरणं गता

sāṃprataṃ khidyamānāham enam eva gadādharam anāthā jagato nāthaṃ śaraṇyaṃ śaraṇaṃ gatā

Verse 37

अग्निः सुवर्णस्य गुरुर् गवां सूर्यो गुरुः स्मृतः अक्षत्राणां गुरुः सोमो मम नारायणो गुरुः

agniḥ suvarṇasya gurur gavāṃ sūryo guruḥ smṛtaḥ akṣatrāṇāṃ guruḥ somo mama nārāyaṇo guruḥ

Verse 38

यद् अहं धारयाम्य् एका जगत्स्थावरजंगमम् मया धृतं धारयते सर्वम् एतद् गदाधरः

yad ahaṃ dhārayāmy ekā jagatsthāvarajaṃgamam mayā dhṛtaṃ dhārayate sarvam etad gadādharaḥ

Verse 39

जामदग्न्येन रामेण भारावतरणेप्सया रोषात् त्रिःसप्तकृत्वो ऽहं क्षत्रियैर् विप्रयोजिता

jāmadagnyena rāmeṇa bhārāvataraṇepsayā roṣāt triḥsaptakṛtvo 'haṃ kṣatriyair viprayojitā

Verse 40

सास्मि वेद्याम् समारोप्य तर्पिता नृपशोणितैः भार्गवेण पितुः श्राद्धे कश्यपाय निवेदिता

sāsmi vedyām samāropya tarpitā nṛpaśoṇitaiḥ bhārgaveṇa pituḥ śrāddhe kaśyapāya niveditā

Verse 41

मांसमेदोस्थिदुर्गन्धा दिग्धा क्षत्रियशोणितैः रजस्वलेव युवतिः कश्यपं समुपस्थिता

māṃsamedosthidurgandhā digdhā kṣatriyaśoṇitaiḥ rajasvaleva yuvatiḥ kaśyapaṃ samupasthitā

Verse 42

स मां ब्रह्मर्षिर् अप्य् आह किम् उर्वि त्वम् अवाङ्मुखी वीरपत्नीव्रतम् इदं वीरपत्नि निषेवसे

sa māṃ brahmarṣir apy āha kim urvi tvam avāṅmukhī vīrapatnīvratam idaṃ vīrapatni niṣevase

Verse 43

साहं विज्ञापितवती कश्यपं लोकभावनम् पतयो मे हता ब्रह्मन् भार्गवेण महात्मना

sāhaṃ vijñāpitavatī kaśyapaṃ lokabhāvanam patayo me hatā brahman bhārgaveṇa mahātmanā

Verse 44

साहं विहीना विक्रान्तैः क्षत्रियैः शस्त्रवृत्तिभिः विधवा शून्यनगरा न धारयितुम् उत्सहे

sāhaṃ vihīnā vikrāntaiḥ kṣatriyaiḥ śastravṛttibhiḥ vidhavā śūnyanagarā na dhārayitum utsahe

Verse 45

तन् मह्यं दीयतां भर्ता भगवंस् त्वत्समो नृपः रक्षेत् सग्रामनगरां यो मां सागरमालिनीम्

tan mahyaṃ dīyatāṃ bhartā bhagavaṃs tvatsamo nṛpaḥ rakṣet sagrāmanagarāṃ yo māṃ sāgaramālinīm

Verse 46

स श्रुत्वा भगवान् वाक्यं बाढम् इत्य् अब्रवीत् प्रभुः ततो मां मानवेन्द्राय मनवे संप्रयच्छत

sa śrutvā bhagavān vākyaṃ bāḍham ity abravīt prabhuḥ tato māṃ mānavendrāya manave saṃprayacchata

Verse 47

सा मनुप्रभवं पुण्यं प्राप्येक्ष्वाकुकुलं महत् विपुलेनास्मि कालेन पार्थिवात् पार्थिवं गता

sā manuprabhavaṃ puṇyaṃ prāpyekṣvākukulaṃ mahat vipulenāsmi kālena pārthivāt pārthivaṃ gatā

Verse 48

एवं दत्तास्मि मनवे मानवेन्द्राय धीमते भुक्ता राजकुलैश् चापि महर्षिकुलसंमितैः

evaṃ dattāsmi manave mānavendrāya dhīmate bhuktā rājakulaiś cāpi maharṣikulasaṃmitaiḥ

Verse 49

बहवः क्षत्रियाः शूरा मां जित्वा दिवम् आश्रिताः ते स्म कालवशं प्राप्य मय्य् एव प्रलयं गताः

bahavaḥ kṣatriyāḥ śūrā māṃ jitvā divam āśritāḥ te sma kālavaśaṃ prāpya mayy eva pralayaṃ gatāḥ

Verse 50

मत्कृते विग्रहा लोके वृत्ते वर्तन्त एव च क्षत्रियाणां बलवतां संग्रामेष्व् अनिवर्तिनाम्

matkṛte vigrahā loke vṛtte vartanta eva ca kṣatriyāṇāṃ balavatāṃ saṃgrāmeṣv anivartinām

Verse 51

एतद् युष्मत्प्रवृत्तेन दैवेन परिणामिता जगद्धितार्थं कुरुत राज्ञां हेतुं रणक्षये

etad yuṣmatpravṛttena daivena pariṇāmitā jagaddhitārthaṃ kuruta rājñāṃ hetuṃ raṇakṣaye

Verse 52

यद्य् अस्ति मयि कारुण्यं भारशैथिल्यकारणात् एकश् चक्रधरः श्रीमान् अभयं मे प्रयच्छतु

yady asti mayi kāruṇyaṃ bhāraśaithilyakāraṇāt ekaś cakradharaḥ śrīmān abhayaṃ me prayacchatu

Verse 53

यम् अहं भारसंतप्ता संप्राप्ता शरणैषिणी भारो यद्य् अवरोप्तव्यो विष्णुर् एष ब्रवीतु माम्

yam ahaṃ bhārasaṃtaptā saṃprāptā śaraṇaiṣiṇī bhāro yady avaroptavyo viṣṇur eṣa bravītu mām

'I, burnt by the burden, have come seeking refuge. If this burden is to be laid down, let Viṣṇu himself tell me.'

Verse commentary

Madhu-Kaiṭabha Retold; Pṛthivī Asks for a Husband-King

मधुकैटभ-कथा — पृथिव्याः शरणागमनम्

Verses 1, 12, 15, 18, 30, 45, 53: Brahmā the *viśvātma* arriving with Pṛthivī like a rain-cloud-mountain, Vāyu announcing *mā śabdaḥ* — silence in the divine sabhā, the ear-passages of sleeping Viṣṇu birthing Madhu and Kaiṭabha, the Lord's naming of the two — the soft-one Madhu and the hard-one Kaiṭabha, Viṣṇu crushing them both in his arms, Pṛthivī's request 'give me a husband-king equal to you, who will protect me, the sea-garlanded earth', and her closing plea 'I have come for shelter, burned by the burden — let Viṣṇu himself say whether the burden is to be laid down'. Template commentary, pending Editorial Council review.

HV 42 is the hinge on which the Harivaṃśa-parva pivots toward its end. Two threads are carried in this one chapter. The first is a re-telling of the Madhu-Kaiṭabha episode (already named in HV 31.18 and HV 38.18), but now *from the inside*: the two demons are revealed to have been born *karṇa-srot-odbhavau* — 'from the ear-passages of Viṣṇu' — while He slept in the cosmic ocean (42.15). The Lord himself names them: *mṛdur ayaṃ madhur nāma, kaṭhinaḥ kaiṭabho 'bhavat* — 'the soft one is named Madhu, the hard one became Kaiṭabha' (42.18). The origin-story is theologically startling: the demons are the Lord's *own ear-born*; their opposition is internal to him. He crushes them with his arms (42.30). The second thread is *Pṛthivī's prayer*. The Earth-goddess, *bhāra-saṃtaptā*, 'burned by the burden' of the world she carries, comes as *śaraṇa-eṣiṇī*, 'seeking shelter' (42.53). She asks Viṣṇu for a *bhartā* (husband-king) *tvat-samaḥ nṛpaḥ* — 'a king equal to you' — who will protect her (42.45). The chapter closes with her question: *bhāro yady avaroptavyaḥ, viṣṇur eṣa bravītu mām* — 'if the burden is to be laid down, let Viṣṇu himself tell me'. The Harivaṃśa-parva is now directly set up for the Viṣṇu-parva's opening: the Lord will answer Pṛthivī's prayer by becoming Vāsudeva.

HV 42.1

एतावद् उक्त्वा राजेन्द्र ब्रह्मा लोकपितामहः । पृथिव्या सह विश्वात्मा विरराम महाद्युतिः । बाढम् इत्य् एव सह तैर् दुर्दिनाम्भोदनिस्वनः । प्रतस्थे दुर्दिनाकारः सदुर्दिन इवाचलः ॥

etāvad uktvā rājendra brahmā loka-pitāmahaḥ | pṛthivyā saha viśvātmā virarāma mahā-dyutiḥ | bāḍham ity eva saha tair durdināmbhoda-nisvanaḥ | pratasthe durdin-ākāraḥ sadurdina ivācalaḥ

Having said this much, O king, Brahmā the world-grandfather, the Universal-Soul, fell silent along with Pṛthivī — great in splendor. 'Very well' — with them, with the sound of a rain-cloud on a dark day, he set forth, cloud-formed, like a mountain with its rain-clouds.

The Living Words

*Etāvad uktvā*, 'having said this much'. *Brahmā loka-pitāmahaḥ*, 'Brahmā, the world-grandfather'. *Pṛthivyā saha viśvātmā*, 'with Pṛthivī, the Universal-Soul'. *Bāḍham ity eva*, 'saying simply, very well'. *Durdin-ākāraḥ sadurdina ivācalaḥ*, 'cloud-formed, like a mountain with rain-clouds'.

The Heart of It

The image is quiet and beautiful. Brahmā, Pṛthivī, and the Viśvātma arrive together — *like a mountain with its own rain-clouds*. The simile places the three as one natural phenomenon, not as separate actors. The Warkari reading notes the word *bāḍham* — 'very well' — a colloquial assent. Even the cosmic journey starts with an everyday *yes*. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 29 *bhakti-bhāvēṃ hāñjī-hāñjī* — 'with devotion, only yes-yes' — names the same posture. The Lord's work unfolds among those who answer *bāḍham* and walk with the Earth-goddess as the mountain walks with its clouds.

HV 42.12

ततः प्रभञ्जनो वायुर् ब्रह्मणा साधु चोदितः । मा शब्द इति सर्वत्र प्रचक्राम सभां शुभाम् ॥

tataḥ prabhañjano vāyur brahmaṇā sādhu coditaḥ | mā śabda iti sarvatra pracakrāma sabhāṃ śubhām

Then Vāyu, the great wind, rightly prompted by Brahmā, moved through the whole auspicious assembly crying 'No noise!'

The Living Words

*Prabhañjano vāyuḥ*, 'Vāyu the wind-breaker'. *Brahmaṇā sādhu coditaḥ*, 'rightly prompted by Brahmā'. *Mā śabda iti*, 'no noise!'. *Pracakrāma sabhāṃ śubhām*, 'moved through the auspicious assembly'.

The Heart of It

A lovely detail in the machinery of the divine hall: before the central speech, Vāyu himself is dispatched as *mā-śabda*-herald — 'no-noise' runs through the sabhā. The Warkari reading enjoys this: even the wind becomes a monk for the Lord's word. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 22 *śabda-mukta māna* — 'the mind freed of speech' — names the same inner discipline. *Mā śabda iti* is the charter of *mauna-vrata*. Before the Name speaks, the sabhā must fall silent; before the Lord answers Pṛthivī, the wind must stop. The Paṇḍharpūr kīrtan's ancient practice of a *stambha-mauna* — a pillar-silence before the refrain — has HV 42.12 as its Sanskrit precedent.

HV 42.15

कर्णस्रोतोद्भवौ तौ हि विष्णोर् अस्य महात्मनः । महार्णवे प्रस्वपतः काष्ठकुड्यसमौ स्थितौ ॥

karṇa-srot-odbhavau tau hi viṣṇor asya mahātmanaḥ | mahārṇave prasvapataḥ kāṣṭha-kuḍya-samau sthitau

Those two were born from the ear-passages of this great-souled Viṣṇu while He slept in the great ocean — they stood equal to wood-walls.

The Living Words

*Karṇa-srot-odbhavau*, 'born of the ear-passages'. *Viṣṇoḥ mahātmanaḥ*, 'of the great-souled Viṣṇu'. *Mahārṇave prasvapataḥ*, 'while he slept in the great ocean'. *Kāṣṭha-kuḍya-samau sthitau*, 'they stood equal to wood-walls'.

The Heart of It

The verse is theologically startling: the two chief demons originated from *Viṣṇu's own ears* while he slept. Demons are not outside the Lord; they are the *karṇa-srotas-udbhavas* — the passageways that accumulate their own obstruction when the Lord is asleep. The Warkari reading is inward: the demonic is *ear-born* — it enters through listening. *Śravaṇa-doṣa* — the fault of wrong hearing — accumulates during the soul's sleep. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 18 *jō karṇī parā-nindā āika* — 'whoever hears slander with the ears' — identifies the same *karṇa-srota* as a site of danger. And the remedy, in HV 40.12, was already named: *even in sleep, turn the brahma-sūtra.* The ears that stay tuned to the Name do not birth Madhu and Kaiṭabha.

HV 42.18

नामनी तु तयोश् चक्रे स विभुः सलिलोद्भवः । मृदुस् त्व् अयं मधुर् नाम कठिनः कैटभो ऽभवत् ॥

nāmanī tu tayoś cakre sa vibhuḥ salil-odbhavaḥ | mṛdus tv ayaṃ madhur nāma kaṭhinaḥ kaiṭabho 'bhavat

The water-born all-pervading Lord made names for those two: 'The soft one shall be Madhu; the hard one, Kaiṭabha.'

The Living Words

*Nāmanī tu tayoḥ cakre*, 'made names for those two'. *Sa vibhuḥ salil-odbhavaḥ*, 'the water-born all-pervading [Lord]'. *Mṛdur ayaṃ madhur nāma*, 'the soft one is named Madhu'. *Kaṭhinaḥ kaiṭabho 'bhavat*, 'the hard one became Kaiṭabha'.

The Heart of It

The Lord *names his own enemies*. He has already named the five *nārāyaṇa-āśrayāḥ* (HV 38.1); here he names the two opposites. *Mṛdu-madhu, kaṭhina-kaiṭabha* — softness-and-sweetness, hardness-and-cruelty — are both recognized by name from the Lord's own mouth. The Warkari reading is delicate: the obstacles inside the heart must also be named by the Lord. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 16 *kāma-krodha nāma-pāyē* — 'desire-and-anger at the feet of the Name' — is the same naming-move. The passions are brought before the Lord, named by him, and only then addressed. To know what you suffer is already to have shown it to him; the soft-Madhu of a sweetened self-deception and the hard-Kaiṭabha of a stiffened anger are both *nāmanī cakre*. The Name does not need to be furious with them; the naming is itself their undoing.

HV 42.30

स हि गृह्य मृधे दैत्यौ दोर्भ्यां तौ समपीडयत् । जन्मतुर् निधनं चापि ताव् उभौ मधुकैटभौ ॥

sa hi gṛhya mṛdhe daityau dorbhyāṃ tau samapīḍayat | janmatur nidhanaṃ cāpi tāv ubhau madhu-kaiṭabhau

Seizing those two daityas in battle with his two arms, he pressed them together; both Madhu and Kaiṭabha received both their [second] birth and their death [in the same grip].

The Living Words

*Sa hi gṛhya mṛdhe daityau*, 'he, seizing the two daityas in combat'. *Dorbhyāṃ tau samapīḍayat*, 'with the two arms pressed them together'. *Janmatur nidhanaṃ cāpi*, 'they received both birth and death'. *Tāv ubhau madhu-kaiṭabhau*, 'those two, Madhu and Kaiṭabha'.

The Heart of It

The verse has a startling phrase: *janmatur nidhanaṃ cāpi* — 'they received both birth and death'. Tradition reads this as the demons' boon-request fulfilled: they asked to be *slain where the earth is unflooded* (42.28) and the Lord placed them on his own thighs. The wordplay is the Harivaṃśa's own: what is *ear-born* becomes *arm-pressed*. The Warkari reading attends to the grip. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 8 *daityāṁtē māratā hari śrama nōhē* — 'slaying the demons, Hari knows no weariness' — has HV 42.30 as its picture. The Lord's own arms — the same arms that *dropped weapons* at HV 40.3 — now hold Madhu-Kaiṭabha. Inside the āśrama he lets weapons go; outside, his own arms are sufficient. The Warkari's inner battle runs on the same pattern: inside prayer, no effort; outside, the Name alone as both effort and weapon.

HV 42.45

तन् मह्यं दीयतां भर्ता भगवंस् त्वत्समो नृपः । रक्षेत् सग्रामनगरां यो मां सागरमालिनीम् ॥

tan mahyaṃ dīyatāṃ bhartā bhagavaṃs tvat-samo nṛpaḥ | rakṣet sa-grāma-nagarāṃ yo māṃ sāgara-mālinīm

'Therefore, Blessed One, give me a husband-king equal to you — one who will protect me, the sea-garlanded, with my villages and cities.'

The Living Words

*Tan mahyaṃ dīyatāṃ bhartā*, 'give me a husband-king'. *Bhagavaṃs tvat-samo nṛpaḥ*, 'a king equal to you, Blessed One'. *Rakṣet sa-grāma-nagarām*, 'who will protect, with my villages and cities'. *Mām sāgara-mālinīm*, 'me, the sea-garlanded'.

The Heart of It

Pṛthivī's central prayer. She does not ask for an *ally* but for a *bhartā* — a husband, a bearer. The title she gives herself is *sāgara-mālinī*, 'sea-garlanded'. The Warkari reading: the Earth knows her own beauty and her own vulnerability at once. A sea-garlanded goddess still asks for protection; the sea is ornament but not shelter. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 17 *sakaḷa-pṛthivī-pati viṭṭhal* — 'Viṭṭhal the lord of the whole earth' — answers this prayer in Marathi. *Tvat-samo nṛpaḥ* — 'a king equal to you' — is asking for the Lord's *own* arrival. And indeed she will get him: the Viṣṇu-parva's whole Kṛṣṇa-story is the answer to HV 42.45. The Harivaṃśa-parva ends on her request; the Viṣṇu-parva begins on the response.

HV 42.53

यम् अहं भारसंतप्ता संप्राप्ता शरणैषिणी । भारो यद्य् अवरोप्तव्यो विष्णुर् एष ब्रवीतु माम् ॥

yam ahaṃ bhāra-saṃtaptā saṃprāptā śaraṇa-eṣiṇī | bhāro yady avaroptavyo viṣṇur eṣa bravītu mām

To whom I have come, burned by the burden, seeking shelter — if the burden is to be laid down, let this Viṣṇu himself tell me.

The Living Words

*Bhāra-saṃtaptā*, 'burned by the burden'. *Saṃprāptā śaraṇa-eṣiṇī*, 'come seeking shelter'. *Bhāro yady avaroptavyaḥ*, 'if the burden is to be laid down'. *Viṣṇur eṣa bravītu mām*, 'let Viṣṇu himself tell me'.

The Heart of It

Pṛthivī ends her speech with three words that could be the Warkari's own prayer: *bhāra-saṃtaptā, śaraṇa-eṣiṇī, viṣṇur eṣa bravītu mām*. 'Burned by the burden, seeking shelter, let Viṣṇu himself tell me.' The verse names the whole structure of the devotee's turning. First the *burn*, then the *seeking*, then the *listening*. The Warkari reading treats HV 42.53 as the prayer the Haripāṭh teaches. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 5 *dukkha-bhāra-hari nāma* — 'the Name, remover of the burden of sorrow' — is its bhakti form. And the final gesture — *viṣṇur eṣa bravītu mām* — refuses to take the answer from any other mouth. The Earth will hear from *Viṣṇu himself*. Between HV 42.53 and the Viṣṇu-parva's opening she will not long wait.

Thread

HV 42 is the Harivaṃśa-parva's closing prayer. Brahmā and Pṛthivī come to Viṣṇu; the sabhā is silenced by *mā śabda iti*; the Madhu-Kaiṭabha episode is retold from the inside as *ear-born-arm-crushed*, revealing the demonic as internal to the Lord's own sleep; and finally the Earth speaks her prayer: *bhāra-saṃtaptā, śaraṇa-eṣiṇī, tvat-samo nṛpaḥ dīyatāṃ mahyam*. She wants not an ally but a Lord-husband equal to Viṣṇu himself. The chapter ends with her final refusal to accept an intermediary answer: *viṣṇur eṣa bravītu mām* — 'let Viṣṇu himself tell me'. The Warkari tradition holds this chapter's last verse as a charter of direct-address prayer: the devotee speaks to the Lord alone, names her burden, asks only from him. The Viṣṇu-parva's response — the Kṛṣṇa-avatāra — begins in the very next chapter.

Echo in the saints

Pṛthivī's triple — *bhāra-saṃtaptā, śaraṇa-eṣiṇī, viṣṇur eṣa bravītu mām* (HV 42.53) — is walked in every Warkari dindī: the tired feet, the *śaraṇ* to Viṭṭhala, the ear straining for *his own voice* in the final *harināma*-kīrtan. Jñāneśvar's Haripāṭh Abhaṅga 19 *nāma-srava-patha-sevī* — 'serving the path that flows from the Name' — is its Marathi. And Madhu-Kaiṭabha as *karṇa-srot-odbhavau* (HV 42.15) — the demonic as ear-born — is the Warkari's sharpest diagnosis of our affliction: we make the world demon-rich by hearing it wrongly. The cure is in the same organ: *śravaṇa-bhakti*, the first limb of the Haripāṭh, which pours the Name into the same ears.

Scripture references

DirectBhagavad Gītā 4.7–8

Pṛthivī's prayer for a *nṛpa tvat-samaḥ* is answered by the Gītā's direct declaration.

यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर् भवति भारत । अभ्युत्थानम् अधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्य् अहम् ॥ परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् । धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥

yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata | abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṃ sṛjāmy aham || paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṃ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām | dharma-saṃsthāpan-ārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge

Whenever dharma declines, O Bhārata, and adharma rises up, then I send forth My Self — for the protection of the good, for the destruction of evil-doers, for the establishment of dharma — I come into being, age after age.

HV 42.45's *tvat-samo nṛpaḥ rakṣet mām* — Pṛthivī asking for a king equal to the Lord — is the explicit *prayer* for which Gītā 4.7–8 is the *promise*. The Warkari tradition reads the two as a prayer-and-response couplet: the Earth asks; the Lord *through the Gītā* says he will come yuge yuge.

EchoesBhagavad Gītā 18.66

Pṛthivī's posture of coming *bhāra-saṃtaptā, śaraṇa-eṣiṇī* is the Gītā's śaraṇāgati.

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 42.53's *śaraṇa-eṣiṇī... viṣṇur eṣa bravītu mām* is Gītā 18.66's *māṃ ekaṃ śaraṇaṃ vraja* in narrative voice. The Warkari tradition reads them as one movement: the burdened heart comes to the Lord alone and will accept no answer but his own voice.

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