Chapter 19 – Varāha kills Hiraṇyākṣa
Maitreya said:
- Hearing Brahmādeva’s gentle, nectar-like prayer, Bhagavān smiled with loving affection. Though He laughed softly at Brahmā’s simplicity in suggesting an “auspicious time” to Him—He who Himself is Time eternal—still, by a merciful side-glance, He accepted Brahmā’s prayer.
- Then Bhagavān Ādi-Varāha, born wondrously from the nostrils of Brahmā, leapt forward toward the fearless demon and struck him upon the chin with His mighty mace.
- A marvel occurred: Bhagavān’s mace, struck down by the Asura’s blow, slipped from His hand and rolled away. For a moment, the Asura’s strength shone forth.
- Yet, though Bhagavān appeared weaponless, the demon refrained from striking Him. Bound by the code of battle etiquette, he stayed his hand—though this restraint only enraged Bhagavān Hari still further.
- A loud cry arose from all around at the sight of Bhagavān’s mace falling. Yet Bhagavān, all-pervading, appreciated the demon’s adherence to dharma in that instant, and within Himself He remembered Sudarśana, His eternal discus.
- “Victory to You! Destroy him!”—such cries resounded from the heavens, where devas, unaware of Bhagavān’s infinite prowess, looked on as the Sudarśana-disc appeared, eager to serve its Master against the son of Diti.
- Beholding lotus-eyed Bhagavān now holding the blazing disc in His hand, the Asura trembled with rage. His breath grew heavy, his senses flamed, and he bit his lip in fury.
- With glaring eyes and dreadful tusks, he rushed forward shouting, “You are slain!” and hurled his mace with the force of a tempest.
- O Vidura! Even as the mace sped like a storm, Bhagavān, whose form as Varāha was itself a cosmic sacrifice, effortlessly struck it aside with His left foot, as though dismissing a trifle.
- With a playful smile, Bhagavān said, “Pick up your weapon! If you desire victory, try again.” Provoked by these words, the Asura roared and hurled his mace once more.
- Bhagavān stood unmoved. When the weapon sped toward Him, He caught it with ease—just as Garuḍa seizes a serpent.
- Humiliated, his strength failing, the Asura would not take back the mace even when Bhagavān graciously offered it to him.
- Instead, burning with fury, he seized a blazing trident, radiant like fire intent to consume the universe, and hurled it toward Bhagavān Viṣṇu, the very embodiment of yajña.
- But Bhagavān, with His Sudarśana-disc, effortlessly split the trident in mid-air, just as Indra had once cut the feather shed by Garuḍa.
- Enraged beyond measure at this defeat, the Asura struck Bhagavān with his fist upon His broad, majestic chest. Then, bewildered, he vanished for a moment.
- Yet Bhagavān Ādi-Varāha stood utterly unmoved—like a great elephant unshaken by the touch of a garland.
- The demon now unleashed his dreadful māyā. Illusions of destruction spread everywhere, and living beings trembled, fearing the end of the world.
- Tempestuous winds howled, carrying dust and darkness. Stones rained down like volleys from countless slings.
- The heavens became covered with dark clouds flashing lightning, rumbling with thunder, and showering blood, pus, bones, and filth. All light seemed extinguished.
- Fierce mountains hurled weapons, and ghastly female rākṣasīs appeared, shrieking and brandishing spears.
- Harsh cries of “Strike! Slay! Crush!” echoed from hosts of bloodthirsty beings—yakṣas, rākṣasas, warriors, and beasts alike.
- Bhagavān, standing serene, released His beloved Sudarśana, which instantly annihilated every trace of the Asura’s black magic.
- At that very moment, Diti, the demon’s mother, felt her heart tremble. Remembering her husband’s warning, she shuddered as blood oozed from her breast.
- With all his māyā destroyed, the furious Asura rushed again to seize Bhagavān in his arms—but no matter how he tried, he could not clasp Him.
- While the demon rained adamantine blows, Bhagavān Hari calmly struck him with His foreleg upon the root of his ear—just as Indra once felled Vṛtra.
- By that casual touch of Bhagavān, the mighty demon fell like a giant tree uprooted by a storm. His body rolled upon the earth, his limbs shattered, his eyes bulging.
- Brahmā and the assembled sages gazed upon the fallen titan, tusked and fearsome, yet still radiant even in death. In wonder they exclaimed, “What a glorious death, attained while facing Bhagavān Himself!”
- O Vidura, struck down by Bhagavān’s lotus-like foot, Hiraṇyākṣa left his body while beholding Bhagavān’s divine face—the very vision for which yogis perform samādhi in solitude, longing for liberation from material bondage.
- These two attendants of Viṣṇu, fallen to demonic births by curse, will yet return to their eternal posts after passing through further incarnations.
The Devas prayed:
- “O Bhagavān, again and again we bow before You! You who are the source of sacrifice itself, who have assumed this form of pure sattva to protect the worlds—how blessed we are today! The scourge of the universe is slain, and our joy is to take refuge in Your lotus feet.”
Maitreya said:
- Thus, having slain Hiraṇyākṣa of unconquerable pride, Bhagavān Ādi-Varāha, praised by Brahmā and the devas, returned to His eternal abode of Vaikuṇṭha, where bliss never wanes.
- O dear Vidura, this mighty asura, though proud and powerful, was defeated by Bhagavān as easily as a child plays with a toy. This is the wondrous līlā of Bhagavān Varāha, as passed down to me by my teacher, which I now recount to you.
Sūta said:
- O noble Śaunaka, when Vidura, the devotee of Bhagavān, heard this sacred narration from Maitreya, his heart overflowed with bliss.
- If hearing of the deeds of pious devotees fills us with joy, how much greater delight comes from hearing the divine līlās of Bhagavān Viṣṇu Himself!
- Was it not Bhagavān who instantly rescued the mighty elephant, seized by a crocodile, when that king of elephants called out to His lotus feet amidst the cries of his herd?
- Who, being grateful, would not serve Him—He who is so easily pleased by the simple-hearted and surrendered, yet impossible to reach for the crooked and wicked?
- O sages, merely by hearing, singing, or rejoicing in this narration of Bhagavān’s playful slaying of Hiraṇyākṣa, one is absolved of even the sin of brahma-hatyā.
- This sacred līlā of Bhagavān Varāha is supremely purifying. It bestows prosperity, fame, longevity, valor, and victory in battle. Above all, it leads the faithful listener to the lotus feet of Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa, the eternal refuge.
Thus ends the nineteenth discourse entitled “Varāha kills Hiraṇyākṣa”, in Book Three of the great and glorious Bhāgavata Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahaṁsa-Saṁhitā (the book of the God-realized Souls).
