Vishnu Purana - Part I; Chapter 2

[Guest guest]

Om Gurave Namah

-----------------------

 

Shri Sanjay and Solai,

 

Namaste. The 2nd chapter of Part –I of Vishnu Purana

follows. My apologies for the late submission, due to

official/personal preoccupations.

 

Part-I chapter 2

-------------------

 

Parasara’s Story

-------------------

 

Sage Parasara spoke thus:

 

“ Maitreya ! I will answer your questions without any

reservations. Do listen carefully to my words.

 

Once, when I was a child, Pulasthya Brahma, who is

revered in the three worlds, appeared before me and

blessed me, saying that I would be the “Kartha”

(narrator) of 18 puranas, which would bring the

“Brahma Vidya” to mankind in the form of easily

digestible stories. From that day onwards, an

unprecedented ability for weaving enthralling and

extempore narrative, that effortlessly conforms to the

five principles of Purana rendition (Sarga,

pratisarga, vamsa, manwantara, and vamsaanucharita)

miraculously manifested in me. What I propose to say

now would remove all your doubts, so, do pay close

attention to my answers ..….”

 

Maitreya, at this juncture, excitedly interrupted the

flow with an eager question “ Oh Master, why did

Pulasthya Brahma, who is the son of Brahma, the great

Creator, grant you this boon? Please tell me the

entire story…all the details, leaving nothing out. ”

 

Parasara smiled indulgently and continued “ Dear boy,

Sage Vasistha, the Guru of the three worlds, is my

grandfather. Arundhathi is his dutiful wife, and they

were blessed with 100 sons. My father “Shakti” was the

eldest of the lot and Adhrishyanthi was my mother. In

those days, Sage Vishwamitra, envious of the

“Brahmarshi” status that graced my grandfather,

engaged in endless rivalry with Vasistha, and never

let past an opportunity to harm the latter.

 

One day Kalmashapada, a king of Ishwaku lineage, came

hunting in the vicinity of our hermitage. My Father,

who was walking along the path .. absorbed in thought,

did not notice him and so could not immediately give

way. Kalmashapada’s fragile, overblown ego was unable

to bear this tiny pin-prick, and in his paranoia he

falsely perceived that his authority / power was

slowly oozing out. So, shaking with anger, he lashed

out at my father for this unintended slight.

 

As Fate would will it, my Father, usually slow to

anger, also bristled with ire this time and cursed

Kalmashapada, saying that since the king shouted at an

innocent man and thus violated Dharma, he would turn

into a demon and feast on human flesh. Now, Sage

Vishwamitra had his great chance and he seized it with

both hands. He incited the king-turned-demon into

killing all the sons of Vasistha.

 

At the time of this unfortunate incident, I was still

in the womb of my mother. I learnt all the Vedas and

became conversant with the extant puranas and

dharmasutras, as an unborn. And, from the day I was

born, all my time was spent in uninterrupted

meditation / penance.

 

One day, while I was meditating, my mother came to me

and related the sad turn of events and how my Father

became an unwitting victim. Her hitherto suppressed

agony stirred in my breast a tempest of terrible

anger. Ruthlessly brushing aside my Brahminical

tranquility, I initiated a “Satrayaga”, and unleashed

an array of “Adharvana mantras” to annihilate the

demons and as a matter of fact, millions of them did

perish.

 

A few of those “Rakshasas” who still survived

approached Sage Vasistha and pleaded for his mercy and

continuance of their race. The Brahmarshi, being the

epitome of compassion, overcame his own hurt and

chastised me with pointed words:

 

“ Halt my son, what made you so angry? This carnage

that you have started is extremely “rajasik” in

nature and is against the basic “saattwik”

nature/tenets of a Brahmin, and is very unbecoming of

an enlightened soul like you. Don’t you know that

those who resort to killing, however great they might

be, would never gain "sadgathi" or "moksha"? Where

there’s anger, there is sin. Only those who have NOT

attained “sama-drishti” (equi-vision) would fall prey

to anger. What’s the use of that constant meditation,

that uninterrupted penance if one’s not able to

control anger and its infamous outcome? You only

thought of avenging your father’s death. Why didn’t

you think that he was destined to work out his karma

in this way?”

 

These wise but sharp words of Vasistha extinguished

all my anger and shamed me into peace. I quietly

withdrew the killer arsenal (Adharva mantras) I had so

far deployed. At that moment, Pulasthya Brahma, the

Originator of “daithyas”, materialized before me with

a host of demigods and sages. He said that by

renouncing anger and by upholding principles of

peaceful co-existence, I rose above myself and earned

His appreciation. He wished to grant me a boon, and

asked in which form I would like it to manifest.

 

Whereupon, I requested him” Hey Bhagawan, ever since I

read the earlier puranas that greatly sustained my

soul, there is a growing desire in me to author

similar compositions of immortal beauty and truth.

Please bestow on me ethereal wisdom, a honeyed

eloquence and a lofty intellect that would do full

justice to SabdaBrahma, my Exalted Subject.” So by

His grace, I gained comprehensive knowledge in all

matters.

 

“ So Maitreya! I would answer all your queries in the

form of a Purana. This secret knowledge had first been

revealed by Brahma to Daksha Prajapathi, who passed it

on to Purukuthsa, cascaded from him to Saaraswatha and

from him to me.

 

Maitreya, my heartfelt thanks to you for, on this

auspicious day, you have rekindled Vishnu bhakthi in

me. It’s my good fortune that I was directed to

narrate the story of Sri Mahavishnu, the ParamAatma,

the Saviour, and by doing so you’ve indeed ensured

moksha for me.”

 

Saying thus, Parasara commenced Vishnu Purana proper.

 

End of chapter -II

 

Regards,

Lakshmi

 

 

 

 

 

Buy the perfect holiday gifts at Shopping.