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Harivaṃśa
139. An account of the city of Asuras
JANAMEJAYA said:-O desciple of Vyāsa, O you conversant with the tenets of religion, O you having asceticism for your wealth, O Vaishampayana, while giving an account of the carrying away of the Pārijāta tree, you have mentioned Shatpura, the abode of the dreadful Asuras.
O foremost of ascetics and Munis, do you describe at present the destruction of those Asuras and Andhakas (1-5).
VAISHAMPAYANA said:—Even after the heroic Tripura had been slain by the energetic Rudra there remained many leading Asuras.
There not less than sixty hundred thousands of Asuras, the followers of Tripura, were scorched by the fire of Rudra's arrows.
O foremost of kings, stricken with grief consequent upon the destruction of their kith and kin those heroes, with their face towards the sun and living upon air,
carried on penances for a hundred of thousands years and adored Brahmā in the insular continent, Jamvu, a favourite resort of the pious and great saints (5–6).
Taking shelter under a fig tree some of them carried on hard austerities; some, under the Kapitha tree and some living in the dens of jackals engaged in hard austerities (7-8).
O descendant of Kuru, some of those Asuras, resorting to the root of a fig tree, learnt spiritual science, and carried on Tapas (9).
O king, pleased with those penances of theirs, the foremost of the celestials, the Creator Brahmā, the best of the pious, came down there to offer them boons (10).
Requested by the lotus-sprung deity, saying “pray for a boon” they did not pray for any on account of their malice against the Lord Tramvaka (11).
When, O descendant of Kuru, they expressed their desire of wrecking vengeance for the destruction of their kinsmen the omniscient Grand-father said:—
“The lord Maheswara, with the goddess Umā, is without birth, middle and destruction. He is the creator and destroyer of the whole universe.
Who is therefore capable of injuring them? It is an useless task. Renouncing your malice against him do you wish to live happily in the city of the celestials” (12-14).
Thus addressed by Brahmā many wicked-souled Asuras did not yield: but some of them, who knew Bhava's powers, expressed their willingness.
The Grand-father said to the reluctant and wicked Asuras:—“O heroic Asuras, except your vengeance against Rudra do you pray for any other boon” (15-16).
Hearing it they said “O lord, may we become unslayable by all the gods. May we establish six cities under the earth: and they will pass by the name of Satpura.
O lord, going to those six cities we will live there happily. O thou having asceticism for thy wealth, beholding Tripura slain we have been greatly stricken with fear.
Do thou so arrange that we may have no fear from Rudra by whom all our kinsmen have been slain (17-19).”
THE GRAND-FATHER said:-O Asuras, if you do not throw obstacles in the way of the Brāhmanas, fond of the pious and wending fair ways you will be unslayable by the gods and Sankara (20).
If out out of ignorance you happen to injure the Brāhmanas you will meet with destruction for they are the most excellent refuge of the world (21).
If you injure the Brāhmanas you shall have to fear Nārāyaṇa for the Lord Janārddana encompasses the well-being of all creatures (22).
O king, thereupon dismissed by the Grand-father the Asuras went away. Seated on the white bull along with the goddess Umā accompanied by his followers, the Lord, Himself, the Divine Slayer of Tripura, and the refuge of the pious, appeared before those virtuous Asuras who were his followers and said (23–24):-
“May good betide you, O foremost of Asuras. Casting off enmity, pride and malice you have sought refuge with me. I am therefore ready to grant you a boon.
I have been pleased with your actions. Do you repair to the celestial region along with the twice-born ones ever engaged in good works, by whom you have been initiated (25–26).
The ascetics, conversant with the knowledge of Brahman, who will even live under this Kapithwa tree, will attain to my region.
The hermits, who with ascetic rites will adore me for a month or a fortnight, will attain to the fruit of asceticism carried on for a thousand years.
If they worship me for three nights they will attain to the desired-for region. If a man, living in the insular contiment of Arka, worships me in this way he will reap two-fold fruits;
but a man living in a hostile country will gain nothing. He, who will adore me here as Sweta-Vahana (having a white bull for carrier) will attain me even if his mind is possessed by fear (27-31).
The men, who are virtuous, firm in devotion and who worship especially the Munis who live under fig-trees and in the dens of jackals, will attain to their desired-for regions (32-33).
O great king, having said this the Divine, Swetavāhana, Mahādeva, repaired to Rudraloka along with them. What more, those even, who merely resolve “I shall go to Jamvudwipa, I shall live there,” arrive at the region of Rudra (34-35).
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