Canto 8 - Chapter 20: A vision of the Cosmic Body (of the Lord)

Discourse XX

A vision of the Cosmic Body (of the Lord)

Śrī Śuka resumed: Thus spoken to by the sage Śukra (the preceptor of the demon race), Bali, the sacrificer (lit., master of the house or head of his family) kept quiet for a moment and (then) with a concentrated mind submitted to his teacher (as follows). (1)

Bali said: Truly has it been observed by your worshipful self that such (alone) is the duty of householders, as does not at any time interfere with his wealth, enjoyment, fame and livelihood. (2)
But, having promised (once) that I shall give, how can I, the celebrated Bali (a scion of Prahrāda) refuse, like a cheat, through greed of wealth, a (holy) Brāhmaṇa? (3)
This Earth (once) clearly said: "Indeed there is no unrighteousness greater than falsehood. I regard myself capable of sustaining all other than a man given to lying." (4)
I am not afraid (so much) of (the tortures of) hell, poverty and (even) an ocean of misery nor of falling from my position and death (itself) as of playing a Brāhmaṇa false. (5)
Whatever wealth etc., there is in this world will (surely) abandon a deceased person. (Why, then, should one not give it away oneself during one's very lifetime?) (And) what apology is there for parting with (only a portion of) such wealth if a Brāhmaṇa is not satisfied with that (much)? Pious souls like the sage Dadhīci and king Śibi minister to living beings with their life (itself), (so) difficult to part with. What scruple can there be (under such circumstances) in giving away land etc., (external to the self)? (6-7)
Time swallowed the enjoyments of those lords of the Daityas by whom, O holy Brāhmaṇa, (the whole of) this globe was ruled over and who never retreated (in battle), but not (so) the celebrity acquired by them on earth (which still survives). (8)
. Warriors not turning back and laying down their lives on the field of battle, O Brāhmaṇa sage, are indeed easy to find, but not so those (liberal souls) who give away (their) fortune with reverence when a worthy recipient comes.(9)
It is (rather) graceful for a magnanimous and compassionate soul that poverty should overtake him in consequence of (his) gratifying the desire of (ordinary) petitioners, much more of knowers of Brahma like you. Hence I shall (presently) confer the desired boon on this Brahmacārī. (10)
Be he the selfsame Lord Viṣṇu, the Bestower of boons, whom you, well-versed in the Vedic rituals, worship with reverence through Kratus (sacrificial performances in which the use of the Soma plant is indispensable and Yajñas (those in which the Soma plant is not used), or be he an enemy, I shall bestow on him the land sought for, O holy sage! (11)
Even if he unrighteously puts me— even though faultless—in bonds, yet I shall not hurt him, my enemy disguised as a Brāhmaṇa, and (therefore) afraid (of me). (12)
If he is really Lord Viṣṇu (of excellent fame), he would not forfeit his fair name (by playing me false) and might (as well) wrest the earth (from me, even if I were loth to part with it) after killing me in battle; or, being slain by me, he might lie in (eternal) sleep (if he is an impostor). (13)

Śrī Śuka continued: Impelled by Providence, Śukrācārya (the preceptor) cursed (in the following words) his high-minded disciple (Bali), who, being true to his promise, had thus grown (apparently) irreverent (towards his preceptor) and refused to obey him:— (14)
"You, who have grown so arrogant as to violate my command, a highly conceited fool that you are, will soon fall from your high position through disregard shown to us." (15)
Though imprecated in this way by his own teacher, the great soul did not deviate from truth and gifted the land (asked by Him) to the divine Dwarf after (duly) worshipping Him and pouring water (from his right palm in order to solemnize the gift). (16)
His wife, Vindhyāvali, who was adorned with a pearl necklace, then came and brought a pitcher of gold, full of water to wash His feet with.(17)
The sacrificer (Bali) himself washed with delight the glorious feet of the Lord and bore on his head that water, which was capable of consecrating the (whole) universe. (18)
Applauding that action (of Bali) as well as his guilelessness, all the hosts of gods in heaven, as well as Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Siddhas and Cāraṇas, full of joy, greeted the lord of the demons at that time with showers of flowers, even though they were his enemies.(19)
Kettledrums were sounded in thousands again and again; while Gandharvas, Kīmpuruṣas and Kinnaras sang (in the following strain):—"A most difficult task has been done by this noble soul in that he has knowingly given away all the three worlds to his enemy." (20)

(In the meantime) that diminutive form of Śrī Hari, the infinite Lord, which comprised in itself the three Guṇas (as well as their product, the universe) grew to such a wonderful extent that the earth, the sky (the aerial region), the (four) quarters, heaven, the subterranean regions and the (seven) oceans as well as (the various species of living beings such as) human beings, gods, Ṛṣis, and the subhuman creation (all) found their place in it. (21)
In the Body of that Lord (of extraordinary powers), which is the Ground of the three Guṇas (of which this universe is constituted), Bali along with the priests (officiating at the sacrifice), the preceptor and the superintending priests beheld (the whole of) this universe, made up of the (aforesaid) three Guṇas, including the five (gross) elements, the (ten) Indriyas (the five senses of perception as well as the five organs of action), the (five) objects of the senses (viz., sound, touch colour, taste and smell), the mind (in its four aspects) and the Jīva (the embodied soul). (22)
Bali (who had an army as strong and equipped as that of Indra, whose throne he was now occupying) saw the (seven) subterranean regions at the sole of the feet of the Supreme Person, appearing in His cosmic form, the earth in His feet, mountains in His thanks, (the realm of) the feathered kingdom (viz., the atmosphere) in His knees and the host of gods (forty-nine in number) presiding over the air in His thighs. (23)
He (further) beheld Sandhyā (the deity presiding over the morning and evening twilights) in the loin-cloth of the Universal Lord, the Asuras headed by himself (Bali) in His anus, the sage Marici and others (the lords of created beings) in His genitals, the firmament in His navel, the seven oceans in His sides and the host of stars in the chest of the Lord of wide strides. (24)
Again, he saw Dharma (the god of piety), O dear Parikṣit, in the heart of Lord Viṣṇu (the Slayer of the demon śura), (the gods presiding over) Rta (truthful and polite language) and Satya (seeing all with the same eye) in His breasts, and the moon-god in His mind, Śrī (the goddess presiding over riches and beauty) with a lotus in Her hand in His bosom and the Sāmas (sacred texts forming part of Sāmaveda) as well as all sounds in His throat. (25)
He also beheld the immortals with Indra as their head in His arms and the (four) quarters in His ears, heaven in His crown, clouds in His looks, the air in His nostrils, the sun in His eyes and fire in His mouth. (26)
He further witnessed the Vedas in the speech of the Supreme Person. Varuṇa (the god of water) in His palate, the interdictory as well as the injunctive part of the sacred texts in His eyebrows, the day and the night in (the two rows of) His eyelashes, and Anger in His forehead and Greed precisely in His lips. (27)
And He saw Love in His tactile sense, O protector of men, water in His generative fluid and Unrighteousness in His back, sacrificial activity in His strides, Death in His shadow and Māyā (creative energy) in His laughter and the (innumerable) species of herbs and annual plants in the hair on His body. (28)
The hero (Bali) beheld rivers in His arteries, rocks in His nails, Brahmā (the birthless) in His intellect, hosts of gods (presiding over the Indriyas) as well as Ṛṣis in His Indriyas and all created beings—(both) immobile and mobile—in His person. (29)

Observing this universe in the all-sustaining (person of the) Lord, all the demons were seized with fear, O dear one! His (well-known) discus, Sudarśana, possessing an effulgence (the sight of) which was unbearable, and the (famous) Śāṅga bow (made of horn and), of thunder-like twangs, His conch, Pāñcajanya (by name), which roared like thunder, Kaumodaki, the mighty mace of Lord Viṣṇu, His sword, Vidyādhara (also known by the name of Nandaka), pairing with (the shield called) Śatacandra (so-called because it is adorned with a hundred studs resplendent as the moon) and the two excellent quivers containing an inexhaustible stock of arrows, and His chief attendants with Sunanda as their head, accompanied by the guardians of the (various) worlds, waited on the Lord all (in a living form). With a diadem, armlets and a pair of alligator-shaped ear-rings glistening (on His person) and adorned with (the mark of) Śrīvatsa (a white curl of hair on His bosom) and the Kaustubha gem (the foremost of all jewels), and encircled by a girdle, clad in yellow and decked with a wreath of sylvan flowers hovered about by a swarm of black bees, the Lord of wide strides shone brightly, O king! With a single stride He measured the earth, which (entirely) belonged to Bali, and covered the sky (aerial region) with His person (trunk) and the (four) quarters with His arms. (30—33)
To Him as He took a second stride heaven proved of no account (covering only a negligible part of His stride), so that indeed not an atom (of space) was left for a third. (For,) extending higher and higher, the foot of the Cosmic Person presently reached beyond Maharloka and Janaloka as well as beyond Tapoloka (as far as Satyaloka, the realm of Brahmā). (34)

Thus ends the twentieth discourse entitled "A vision of the Cosmic Form (of the Loro)", in Book Eight of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahārṣa-Sarhhitā.