text stringlengths 0 182 |
|---|
"Vipula said, Tell me, O Muni, what forms does Sakra assume when he presents himself. Of what kind is his body and what is |
his energy? It behoveth thee to say all this to me.' |
"Bhishma continued, 'The illustrious Rishi then truly described unto the high-souled Vipula all the illusions of Sakra, O |
Bharata.' |
"Devasarman said, 'The puissant chastiser of Paka, O regenerate Rishi, is full of illusion. Every moment he assumes those |
forms that he chooses. Sometimes he wears a diadem and holds the thunderbolt. Sometimes armed with the thunderbolt and |
wearing a crown on his head, he adorns himself with ear-rings, in a moment he transforms himself into the shape and aspect of |
Chandala. Sometimes, he appears with coronal locks on his head: soon again, O son, he shows himself with matted locks, his |
person clad the while in rags. Sometimes, he assumes a goodly and gigantic frame. The next moment he transforms himself |
into one of emaciated limbs, and dressed in rags. Sometimes he becomes fair, sometimes darkish, sometimes dark of |
complexion. Sometimes he becomes ugly and sometimes as possessed of great comeliness of person. Sometimes he shows |
himself as young and sometimes as old Sometimes he appears as a Brahmana, sometimes as a Kshatriya, sometimes as a |
Vaisya, and sometimes as a Sudra. Verily, he of a hundred sacrifices appears at times as a person born of impure order, that is |
as the son of a superior father by an inferior mother or of an inferior father by a superior mother. Sometimes he appears as a |
parrot, sometimes as a crow, sometimes as a swan, and sometimes as a cuckoo. He assumes the forms also of a lion, a tiger, or |
an elephant. Sometimes he shows himself as a god, sometimes as a Daitya, and sometimes he assumes the guise of a king. |
Sometimes he appears as fat and plump. Sometimes as one whose limbs have been broken by the action of disordered wind in |
the system, sometimes as a bird, and sometimes as one of exceedingly ugly features. Sometimes he appears as a quadruped. |
Capable of assuming any form, he sometimes appears as an idiot destitute of all intelligence. He assumes also the forms of flies |
and gnats. O Vipula, no one can make him out in consequence of these innumerable disguises that he is capable of assuming. |
The very Creator of the universe is not equal to that feat. He makes himself invisible when he chooses. He is incapable of being |
seen except with the eye of knowledge. The chief of the celestials sometimes transforms himself into the wind. The chastiser of |
Paka always assumes these disguises. Do thou, therefore, O Vipula, protect this slender-waisted spouse of mine with great care. |
O foremost one of Bhrigu's race, do thou take every care for seeing that the chief of the celestials may not defile this spouse of |
mine like a wretched dog licking the Havi kept in view of a sacrifice. Having said these words, the highly-blessed Muni, viz., |
Devasarman, intend upon performing a sacrifice, set out from his abode, O chief of the Bharatas. Hearing these words of his |
preceptor, Vipula began to think, 'I shall certainly protect this lady in every respect from the puissant chief of the celestials. But |
what should be the means? What can I do in this matter of protecting the wife of my preceptor? The chief of the celestials is |
endued with large powers of illusion. Possessed of great energy, he is difficult of being resisted. Indra cannot be kept out by |
enclosing this retreat of ours or fencing this yard, since he is capable of assuming innumerable forms. Assuming the form of |
the wind, the chief of the celestials may assault the spouse of my preceptor. The best course, therefore, for me, would be to |
enter (by Yoga-power) the body of this lady and remain there. By putting forth my prowess I shall not be able to protect the |
lady, for the puissant chastiser of Paka, it has been heard by me, is capable of assuming any form he likes. I shall, therefore, |
protect this one from Indra by my Yoga-power. For carrying out my object I shall with my body enter the body of this lady. If |
my preceptor, coming back, beholds his spouse defiled, he will, without doubt, curse me through wrath, for endued with great |
ascetic merit, he is possessed of spiritual vision. This lady is incapable of being protected in the way in which other women are |
protected by men, since the chief of the celestials is endued with large powers of illusion. Alas, the situation in which I find |
myself is very critical. The behest of my preceptor should certainly be obeyed by me. If, therefore, I protect her by my Yoga- |
power, the feat will be regarded by all as a wonderful one. By my Yoga-power, therefore, I shall enter the body of my |
preceptor's lady. I shall stay within her and yet not touch her person, like a drop of water on a lotus-leaf which lies on it and yet |
does not drench it at all. If I be free from the taint of passion, I cannot incur any fault by doing what I wish to do. As a traveller, |
in course of his sojourn, takes up his residence (for a while) in any empty mansion he finds, I shall, after the same manner, |
reside this day within the body of my preceptor's lady Verily, with mind rapt up in Yoga, I shall dwell today in this lady's |
body! Giving his best consideration to these points of righteousness, thinking of all the Vedas and their branches, and with eye |
directed to the large measure of penances which his preceptor had and which he himself also was possessed of, and having |
settled in his mind, with a view only to protect the lady, to enter her person by Yoga-power. Vipula of Bhrigu's race took great |
care (for accomplishing his purpose). Listen now to me, O monarch, as I recite to thee what he did. Endued with great |
penances, Vipula sat himself down by the side of his preceptor's spouse as she of faultless features was sitting in her cottage, |
Vipula then began to discourse to her bringing her over to the cause of righteousness and truth. Directing his eyes then to hers |
and uniting the rays of light that emanated from her organs of vision with those that issued from his, Vipula (in his subtile |
form) entered the lady's body even as the element of wind enters that of ether of space. Penetrating her eyes with his eyes and |
her face with his face, Vipula stayed, without moving, within her invisibly, like her shadow. Restraining every part of the lady's |
body, Vipula continued to dwell within her, intent on protecting her from Indra. The lady herself knew nothing of this. It was in |
this way, O monarch, that Vipula continued to protect the lady till the time of his high-souled preceptor's coming back after |
accomplishing the sacrifice which he had gone out to perform.'" |
SECTION XLI |
'Bhishma said, One day the chief of the celestials assuming a form of celestial beauty, came to the retreat of the Rishi, thinking |
that the opportunity he had been expecting had at last come. Verily, O king, having assumed a form unrivalled for comeliness |
and exceedingly tempting to women and highly agreeable to look at, Indra entered the ascetic's asylum. He saw the body of |
Vipula staying in a sitting posture, immovable as a stake, and with eyes destitute of vision, like a picture drawn on the canvas. |
And he saw also that Ruchi was seated there, adorned with eyes whose ends were extremely beautiful, possessed of full and |
rotund hips, and having a deep and swelling bosom. Her eyes were large and expansive like the petals of the lotus, and her face |
was as beautiful and sweet as the moon at full. Seeing Indra come in that guise, the lady wished to rise up and offer him a |
welcome. Her wonder having been excited at the unrivalled beauty of form which the person possessed, she very much wished |
to ask him as to who he was. Although, however, she wished to rise up and offer him a welcome, yet her limbs having been |
restrained by Vipula who was dwelling within her, she failed, O king, to do what she wished. In fact, she was unable to move |
from the place where she sat. The chief of the celestials then addressed her in agreeable words uttered with a sweet voice. |
Indeed, he said, 'O thou of sweet smiles, know that I am Indra, arrived here for thy sake! Know, O sweet lady, that I am |
afflicted by the deity of desire provoked by thoughts of thee! O thou of beautiful brows, I have come to thy presence. Time |
wears off.'[274] These words that Indra spoke were heard by the ascetic Vipula. Remaining within the body of his preceptor's |
wife, he saw everything that occurred. The lady of faultless beauty, though she heard what Indra said, was, however, unable to |
rise up for welcoming or honouring the chief of the celestials. Her senses restrained by Vipula, she was unable to utter a word |
in reply. That scion of Bhrigu's race, of mighty energy, judging from the indications afforded by the body of his preceptor's |
wife that she was not unwilling to receive Indra with kindness, restrained her limbs and senses all the more effectually, O king, |
by his Yoga-powers. With Yoga-bonds he bound up all her senses. Beholding her seated without any indication of agitation on |
her person, the lord of Sachi, abashed a little, once more addressed that lady who was stupefied by the Yoga-powers of her |
husband's disciple, in these words, 'Come, come, O sweet lady!' Then the lady endeavoured to answer him. Vipula, however |
restrained the words that she intended to utter. The words, therefore, that actually escaped her lips (under the influence of |
Vipula) were. 'What is the reason of thy coming hither?' These words adorned with grammatical refinements, issued out of her |
mouth that was as beautiful as the moon.[275] Subject to the influence of another, she uttered these words, but became rather |
ashamed for uttering them. Hearing her, Purandara became exceedingly cheerless. Observing that awkward result, the chief of |
the celestials, O monarch, adorned with a thousand eyes saw every thing with his spiritual eye. He then beheld the ascetic |
staying within the body of the lady. Indeed, the ascetic remained within the body of his preceptor's wife like an image or |
reflection on a mirror. Beholding the ascetic endued with the terrible might of penances, Purandara, O monarch, fearing the |
Rishi's curse, trembled in fright. Vipula then, possessed of high ascetic might, left the body of his preceptor's wife and returned |
to his own body that was lying near. He then addressed the terrified Indra in the following words: |
"Vipula said, 'O wicked-souled Purandara, O thou of sinful mind, O wretch that hast no control over thy senses, neither the |
deities nor human beings will worship thee for any length of time! Hast thou forgotten it. O Sakra,--does it not still dwell in thy |
remembrance,--that Gautama had cursed thee in consequence of which thy body became disfigured with a thousand sex-marks, |
which, owing to the Rishi's compassion, were afterwards changed into organs of vision? I know that thou art of an exceedingly |
foolish understanding, that thy soul is uncleansed, and that thou art of an exceedingly unstable mind! O fool, know that this |
lady is being protected by me. O sinful wretch, go back to that place whence thou tamest. O thou of foolish soul, I do not |
consume thee today into ashes with my energy. Verily, I am filled with compassion for thee. It is for this that I do not, O |
Vasava, wish to burn thee. My preceptor, endued with great intelligence, is possessed of terrible might. With eyes blazing with |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.