Canto 4 - Chapter 6: Brahmā and the other gods proceed to Kailāsa and appease Lord Śiva ...

Discourse VI

Brahmā and the other gods proceed to Kailāsa and appease Lord Śiva

Maitreya went on: Worsted by the forces of Rudra and stricken with fear, and having all their limbs mangled and broken by (the blows of) their tridents, Paṭṭiśas (a kind of spear), swords, maces, iron clubs and mallets, the hosts of divinities along with the priests officiating and assisting at the sacrifice (approached and) bowed to Brahmā (the self-born) and narrated the story to him in all details. (1-2)
The worshipful Brahmā (the lotus-born creator) and Lord Nārāyaṇa, the Soul of the universe, who had foreseen this, did not attend Dakṣa's sacrifice. (3)
Hearing their story, Brahmā said, "On the part of those wishing to get square with a person possessed of great power, who has given them cause for offence, such a desire does not generally conduce to their welfare. (4)
You were, on the other hand, actually guilty of offence against Lord Śiva in that you deprived Him of a share in the sacrificial offerings, to which He had a rightful claim. You, however, (go and) invoke His favour by clasping His lotus-feet with a guileless heart; for He can be speedily propitiated. (5)
If you wish the sacrifice to be revived (and completed), make haste to crave the forgiveness of that Divinity (Lord Śiva), who was stung to the quick by the abusive words (of Dakṣa) and has now lost His beloved spouse; for the world with its guardian deities will be nowhere if He continues to be angry. (6)
Neither I nor Yajña (the deity presiding over sacrifices) nor (any of) you (the other gods) nor the sages, much less any other embodied beings know His true character or the extent of His strength and power. None would feel inclined (under the circumstance) to contrive any means (other than clasping His feet) to placate Him who is (absolutely) independent. (7)

Having thus enjoined the gods, and accompanied by them as well as by the manes and the lords of created beings, Brahmā (the birthless creator) went from his own realm (the Brahmāloka) to Mount Kailāsa, the chief of the mountains, the beloved abode of Lord Śiva (the Destroyer of the three cities). (8)
Mount Kailāsa is inhabited by gods endowed with supernatural powers from their very birth or who acquired them by the use of specific herbs, by recourse to austere penance and spells or through the practice of Yoga, and is ever crowded with Kinnaras and Gandharvas (celestial musicians) and Apsarās (heavenly dancing girls). (9)
With its summits consisting of jewels of various kinds and variegated with minerals of every description—which are clothed with trees, creepers and shrubs of various species and infested with wild beasts of every kind, nay, which contain many a rill of limpid water and are spotted with many a cave and eminence—it affords delight to the wives of Siddhas (a class of heavenly being endowed with supernatural powers from their very birth), that sport there in the company of their spouses. (10-11)
The mountain is resonant with the screams of peacocks and echoes with the melodious humming of bees blinded by intoxication. Nay, through the shrill notes of its cuckoos and the warbling of other birds and by its wish-yielding trees with their towering boughs it seems to call new birds, raising its arms; nay, through its (moving) elephants it seems to be in motion and through its (murmuring) rills it appears to speak. (12-13)

The mountain is adorned with (celestial trees such as) Mandāras and Pārijātas, as well as with (other trees such as) Saralas (a species of pines), Tamālas, Sālas and Palmyras, Kovidāras, Asanas and Arjunas. (14)
It is further beautified with mango trees, Kadambas and Nīpas, Nāgas, Punnāgas and Campakas, Pāṭalas (trees bearing the trumpet flowers), Aśokas and Bakulas, Kundas (a species of jasmine) as well as Kurabakas (trees bearing the red amaranth flower), golden lotuses, creepers bearing cardamoms, Mālatīs, Kubjas, Mallikās and Mādhavīs. (15-16)
Nay, its beauty is enhanced by breadfruit trees. Udumbaras, the holy fig trees, Plakṣas (the waved-leaf fig trees), banyans and bdelliums, birches, annual trees (such as the banana, which are cut down after they have borne fruit), betel-nut trees, Rājapūgas (a species of areca-nut palms) and rose-apple trees, date-palms, hog-plums, Āmras (a species of mango trees) and so on, Priyālas, Madhukas and soap-nut trees and other varieties of trees, and clusters of bamboos—both of the hollow and solid types. (17-18)
It is further graced with swarms of birds sweetly warbling on the margin of its ponds rich in their beds of lilies and lotuses of various kinds. (19)
It is infested with deer, monkeys, boars, lions, bears and porcupines, Gayals, Śarabhas (a species of eight-footed animals now extinct), tigers, Rurus (a species of black antelopes), wild buffaloes and other wild beasts as well as with Karṇāntras, Ekapadas (a species of one-footed animals) Aśwamukhas, wolves and musk-deer; and the strands of its ponds look charming with the clusters of banana trees surrounding them. (20-21)
It is hemmed in by the river Nandā (the holy Gaṅgā), whose waters have been hallowed by the touch of Satī (the deceased consort of Lord Śiva), who bathed in it. The gods felt astonished to see (the beauty of) Mount Kailāsa, the abode of Lord Śiva (the lord of ghosts). (22)

There (on that mountain) they saw the celebrated and beautiful city of Alakā (the capital of Kubera, the lord of the Yakṣas) as well as the garden named Saugandhika, where can be seen a species of lotuses bearing the same name (and singularly noted for their fragrance). (23)
Along the outskirts of the city flow the two rivers Nandā and Alakanandā, both of which have derived utmost sanctity from (their contact with) the dust of the feet of Lord Viṣṇu (which are the abode of all sanctity). (24)
Descending from their aerial cars, O Vidura, celestial women, exhausted by their amorous dalliance, take a plunge into these streams and sport therein, sprinkling their mates with water. (25)
The water of these rivers gets coloured by the saffron washed (from their bosom) during their ablutions, and (tempted by its delicious fragrance) elephants drink it, even though they have no thirst, and give the same to the she-elephants also to drink. (26)

Crowded with hundreds of aerial cars made of silver, gold and most precious jewels, and inhabited by the wives of Yakṣas, the city looked like the firmament overcast with clouds accompanied by lightning. (27)
They overpassed the capital of Kubera (the lord of the Yakṣas) as well as the aforementioned garden called Saugandhika, which looked charming with its wish-yielding trees, laden with fruits, flowers and leaves of variegated colours. (28)
The notes of cuckoos and hosts of other birds in that garden added to the melody of the (humming of) bees and it was spotted with ponds containing lotus beds, the most favourite resorts of swans. (29)
By the breezes wafting the perfume of its sandal-trees, whose (soft) bark was scratched by wild elephants (rubbing their bodies against it in order to relieve their itching sensation), it flamed the passion of Yakṣa women again and again. (30)
(Going further) they saw a number of extensive wells containing beds of blue lotuses and provided with stairs of cat's-eye, which were frequented by Kimpuruṣas (another class of demigods); and not far from them they sighted a banyan tree. (31)

The tree had a height of one hundred Yojanas (or eight hundred miles) and its boughs extended to a distance of seventy-five Yojanas (or six hundred miles) on every side. It cast a permanent shade on all sides and thus warded off the sun; yet it contained no nest. (32)
Beneath that tree, which induced great concentration of mind and was the (happy) resort of those seeking liberation, the gods beheld Lord Śiva seated like Death free from anger. (33)
Possessed of a most tranquil personality, He was being waited upon by highly realized and peaceful souls, Sanandana and others, as well as by His friend, Kubera (the lord of the Yakṣas and the Rākṣasas). (34)
That supreme Lord, who is the disinterested friend of the whole universe, remains engaged in the practice of worship, concentration of mind and deep meditation (in order to set a noble example to others) and does penance which is conducive to the welfare of the world out of affection (for all). (35)
On His body possessing the (reddish) hue of an evening cloud He wears the marks so dear to ascetics, viz., a coat of ashes, a staff, matted locks and deerskin, and the crescent moon (on His forehead). (36)
Seated on a mattress of Kuśa grass, He was expounding the truth relating to the eternal Brahma to (the celestial sage) Nārada, who was putting questions to Him, while (other) worthy personages also listened. (37)
Placing His left lotus foot on the right thigh and the left arm on the left knee * and with a rosary of Akṣa seeds coiled round His (right) wrist, He sat with His right hand formed into what is known as the Tarkamudrā † (generally adopted by those teaching wisdom to their disciples). (38)
With their palms joined in prayer the sages as well as the protectors of the world bowed low to Lord Śiva—the Sage ranking foremost among those given to contemplation—who sat absorbed in the joy of one of Seeging Brahmā (the self-born) arrived (there), Lord Śiva, whose feet are reverenced by the lords of immortals as well as by Asura chiefs, rose (from His seat) and greeted him by bowing his head, even as the most adorable Lord Viṣṇu (appearing in the form of the divine Dwarf) bows to Kaśyapa (His father and a lord of created beings). (40)
So also the hosts of other Siddhas as well as the great sages, who were devoted to Lord Śiva and sat around Him, bowed to him. Greeted (by them all), Brahmā (the self-born) smilingly addressed Lord Śiva (who wears the crescent moon on His head and) who was still bowing to him. (41)

Brahmā said : I know You to be the Ruler of the universe; for You are the same as the undifferentiated Brahma, the cause of both Śakti (the Divine Energy or Prakṛti) and Śiva (the Spirit or Puruṣa), who are severally the womb (source) and seed of the creation. (42)
Carrying on Your sport through Śiva and Śakti, who are essentially one, O Lord, it is You who create, protect and swallow (with draw into Yourself) this universe, even as the spider evolves (from its mouth) the cobweb, preserves it and then takes it back into its mouth. (43)
It is You who evolved the (institution of) sacrifice through the instrumentality of Dakṣa for the preservation of the three Vedas (which yield both religious merit and wealth); and by You have been fixed the bounds of propriety which the Brāhmaṇas who have adopted sacred vows duly respect. (44)
O blissful Lord, You confer (the enjoyments of) heaven or even final beatitude on him who performs benevolent deeds, and assign the frightful inferno to the perpetrator of evil deeds. But how is it that in the case of some individuals the fruit of certain acts is quite the contrary ? (45)

Indeed anger does not generally overpower—even as it overwhelms the ignorant—the noble souls who have surrendered themselves to Your feet, who behold You in all living beings and who are inclined to see all living beings in their own self as identical with them. (46)
Let not one (an exalted soul) like You kill them whose mind perceives diversity and whose eyes are fixed on the ritual, nay, who have a malignant mind and whose heart is ever burning (with jealousy) at the sight of others' prosperity and who, being naturally disposed to hurt others' feelings, prick them with abusive words, and are (thus already) doomed by Providence. (47)
On them whose mind is bewildered by the Māyā (deluding potency) of Lord Viṣṇu (whose navel is the seat of a lotus), so difficult to overcome; and whose eye is (therefore) fixed on diversity, pious souls only shower their grace because of their compassionate nature; they never use their power against something which (they believe) has been wrought by their own (adverse) fate. (48)

• This posture is referred to under the name of 'Virāsana' in works on Yoga, as the following verse will show :

† The Tarka-Mudrā, more popularly known as the Jñāna-Mudrā, has been described as follows :—

*Joining the tips of the thumb and the index finger and straightening the other fingers after joining them together—this position of the hand is what the knowers of Mantras call "Tarkamudrā."

Omniscient as You are, Your judgment has not been clouded by that Māyā of the Supreme Person, which is so difficult to get through. Therefore, my lord, be pleased to shower Your grace on these people (Dakṣa and others), whose judgment has been impaired by Māyā and who have accordingly fixed their mind on the ritual. (49)
O Lord presiding over destruction, revive the sacrifice started by Dakṣa (lord of created beings), which has been wrecked by You and could not, therefore, be consummated—which was due to the fact that the unwise priests did not offer You Your share, to which You had a rightful claim inasmuch as it is by You that a sacrifice is made to yield the desired fruit. (50)
Let the sacrificer (Dakṣa) come to life (again); let the god Bhaga get back his eyes; let the sage Bhṛgu's moustaches and beard sprout again and let the god Pūṣā's teeth reappear as before. (51)
Further, let the gods and priests whose limbs have been broken by weapons and stones be whole again at once by Your favour, O Rudra (anger personified). (52)
Let that which is left of the sacrifice, offerings be Your share, O god presiding over destruction! Let this sacrifice, O Rudra, be consummated today with Your share, O Destroyer of sacrifice. (53)

Thus ends the sixth discourse entitled "The Appeasement of Rudra" in Book Four of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahāṃsa-Sarhhitā.