King Pariksit said, Why did Lord Boar fight and kill the criminal Hiranyaksa? Could you please explain this to me?
Suka Goswami said, The story of the fight between Lord Boar and Hiranyaksa begins with Hiranyaksa’s mother Diti and his father Kasyapa. Diti desired to have a child and one night she was overcome with passion and so she approached her husband Kasyapa.
Expressing her desire to her husband Diti said, I am pierced by the arrows of desire and they are tormenting me. Please show me your favour, I am saddened to see my co-wives blessed with children while I have none. Please satisfy my desire. A superior man never allows the appeals of those in distress to remain unfulfilled.
Kasyapa said, Of course I will satisfy your desires, who would not satisfy one who helps them accomplish the goals of human life? Just as a ship can be used to travel across the ocean, a wife helps one travel across the ocean of misery in this world. The wise have declared a wife is the equal partner in all one’s attempts at happiness. A man can entrust many responsibilities to his wife and doing so he can move through the world free of trouble.
With the association of a wife a man can rule over his senses which are difficult to control, just as the ruler of a fort can repel hostile invaders. If I tried my whole life I could never achieve the obliging and generous qualities you possess.
I shall satisfy your desire for children, but in order for me to remain free of blame please be patient and wait for a favourable time to conceive. This particular time is terrible and most unfavourable because the horrible-looking ghouls and companions of the lord of the ghosts are wandering around.
Although Kasyapa explained to Diti that the time was unfavourable, she was overcome by passion and she brazenly grabbed his clothing. Seeing the urgency of his wife, Kasyapa lay down with her in a private place.
Later Diti felt ashamed of herself and she timidly approached her husband and said, Do not let the lord of the ghouls kill my embryo because I offended him, please protect me. Let him show mercy to me, even hunters show compassion toward women.
Kasyapa said, Your mind was impure, the time was unfavourable, you disobeyed my advice and disregarded the gods. Because of this you will give birth to two degenerate sons. They will torture the entire universe, kill many innocents and cause disturbance to the gods and the sages. They will enrage the Supreme Lord and he will come down to this world and kill them, just as Indra wields his thunderbolts to crush the mountains.
Diti said, My dear husband, It is my desire that my sons be killed by the Supreme Lord and not by the anger of the brahmins. Even the residents of hell do not show compassion to those burnt by the curse of a brahmin.
The sage Kasyapa replied, Because you are sincerely regretting what you have done and feeling grief and contemplating what is pious, and also showing respect for the Supreme Lord and me, your grandson will be respected by the sages and the Lord himself. His deeds will be sung about and glorified. Many people will try to follow his example and purify themselves by renouncing hatred and being a friend to all living beings. He will be admired by all because the Supreme Lord will be pleased with him.
Diti was delighted to hear her grandson would be a saintly person and that her sons would be killed by the Supreme Lord. Because she knew her sons would disturb the gods she kept the semen of Kasyapa Muni in her womb for a hundred years.
The power of Diti’s pregnancy caused the world to be deprived of light and the power of the gods was subdued. The gods approached Brahma, the creator of the universe and said, This darkness of the world is causing us disturbance. There is nothing that is unknown to you, can you please tell us what is causing this.
Brahma replied, It is the embryo within the womb of Diti that is causing this. I will tell you the story of how Diti’s pregnancy has caused this darkness throughout the universe. Sanaka and my other sons who were born even before you, wander through all the worlds without any specific purpose. At one time they travelled to Vaikuntha, the spiritual realm, where the Supreme Lord resides.
All those who dwell in that realm have a form like Vishnu and are devoted to him. In those worlds everything is pure with no influence of passion or ignorance. There are many trees that yield whatever one desires and they blossom and fruit in all seasons. These trees are the form of liberation.
My four sons were overjoyed when they reached Vaikuntha. They had already passed through six gates and as they approached the seventh gate, they saw two gatekeepers armed with maces and dressed in beautiful clothing. They wore valuable jewellery and garlands of flowers which attracted many bees.
The doormen appeared to be angry, their eyebrows were raised and they had red eyes and flared nostrils. As they had done at all the other gates, my four sons walked through the seventh gate without asking the doorkeepers for permission.
These four sages were old and knew the truth of the soul, but they were naked and looked like they were only 5 years old. The gatekeepers laughed at their appearance and used their canes to prevent the sages from entering. In this way, they disregarded the good manners approved of by the Lord and the sages who should have been respected. When their entrance was blocked by the gatekeepers, the sages were overcome by anger because of their disappointment at being obstructed in seeing the Lord.
The sages said, How is it that these two people have attained an exalted position serving the Lord yet their nature is opposed to their position? They reside in Vaikuntha, the realm transcending anxiety and hatred, yet their nature is the opposite of those qualities. What could have caused these gatekeepers to develop qualities of distrust and hostility toward others?
Here in the spiritual realm, there is undisturbed concordance between everything and the Lord. These two gatekeepers are dressed like gods but their nature is discordant. Let us consider what can be done for their welfare and remedy their offence. Since they perceive enmity between the Lord and others, they should reside in the material world where such enmity exists.
The gatekeepers became frightened when the sages cursed them. They prostrated themselves before the sages in great anxiety because there is no weapon that can destroy a brahmin’s curse. The gatekeepers said, Let your punishment be inflicted on us since we have disrespected sages like you. Please show compassion at our repentance and allow us to always remember the Lord.
Meantime, the offence of the gatekeepers became known to the Lord, and he and the goddess of fortune arrived at the scene. The Lord’s affectionate smile touched everyone’s hearts and enhanced the beauty of his abode.
He wore a yellow cloth and bees were humming around his garland of fresh flowers. His wrists were adorned with lovely bracelets. He rested one hand on Garuda’s shoulder and in the other he twirled a lotus flower. He wore a helmet set with gemstones and the Kaustubha jewel was around his neck.
The sages looked at his beautiful figure and joyously bowed down before him. The air had the fragrance of tulsi and when they breathed it in, their minds and bodies were excited. Seeing his charming face they felt completely satisfied.
The sages said, O Lord, although you are within the hearts of everyone, the impious cannot detect you there. Today you are visible to our eyes. Our father Brahma, described your mysteries to us and now we see you in person. You are the supreme soul of all. By your grace, those who are purified of all attachment can know you in their hearts. Those who have a desire for liberation take shelter of you and listen to descriptions of your activities. They see no value in other achievements.
Even if we are born in the depths of hell, we desire to always find joy in remembrance of you and delight in hearing and singing of your qualities. You are never visible to those who lack self-control and we bow down to you who have graciously appeared before us.
The Supreme Lord said, These two servants of mine, Jaya and Vijaya, disregarded me and have insulted you. The punishment you have given them has my approval. The brahmin should always be respected. I apologise and ask you to please forgive the insult, because if a servant causes offence, the master is responsible and his reputation is spoiled.
Hearing my glories can purify the entire world. My reputation comes from sages like yourselves, so I would cut my own arm from my body if its movement displeased you.
I consider the brahmins, the cows and other innocent creatures to be the same as my own body. I am won over by anyone who respects the brahmins even if the brahmin’s speak harshly. My servants Jaya and Vijaya have committed an offence against you because they did not know the intention of their master. I would consider it an act of kindness to me if you would order that once they have suffered the results of their wrongdoing they may quickly return to me. In this way, they will not be banished from me for a long time.
Although the sages were polluted by anger and they listened to the Lord’s words carefully, they were still not satisfied. The sages contemplated the meaning of his words but they could not fathom the Lord’s intention.
But they were overjoyed with seeing and hearing the Lord and with folded hands and the hairs on their bodies standing on end they said, O Lord, we do not understand why you spoke in our favour. You are the supreme ruler. Whatever punishment you think Jaya and Vijaya deserve we will accept wholeheartedly. Or you may inflict punishment on us for cursing innocent people.
The Supreme Lord said, I was the cause of the punishment, and so they will take birth in the material world. However, their meditation on me will be increased by anger and concentration of mind and in that way they will be tightly bound to me and soon return to me. Having learned the glories of the servants of the Supreme Lord, the sages bowed down and offered the Lord their respects and then took their leave.
The Lord said to his servants, You must depart but do not be afraid. I will not cancel the brahmin’s curse although I have the power to do so. I approve of this punishment. Your banishment was ordained by the goddess of fortune, Lakshmi because you prevented her from entering the gate when I was resting. You will purify yourselves of the offence to the brahmins by the intensity of concentration created by your anger, and you will return to me quickly.
Instructing the gatekeepers in this way, the Supreme Lord entered his abode. The curse of the brahmins destroyed the prosperity of the gatekeepers and they fell from the realm of the Lord. While they were falling there were cries of lamentation from the gods. Jaya and Vijaya have entered Diti’s womb. It is the power of these two godforsaken siblings that has agitated you. This is all happening by the desire of the Supreme Lord, he has ordained this.
