when the Gandharvas have saved from their elementary nature merely so much as to be the musicians in the paradise of Indra, the Apsarases appear, amongst other subordinate deities which share in the merry life of Indra's heaven, as the wives of the Gandharvas, but, more especially, as wives of a licentious sort; and they are promised, too, as a reward to heroes fallen in battle, when they are received into the paradise of Indra; and, while, in the Rig-veda, they assist Soma to pour down his floods, they descend, in the epic literature, on earth, merely to shake the virtue of penitent sages, and to deprive them of the power they would have, otherwise, acquired through unbroken austerities. To this association of the ethical with the physical element, in the character of the Apsarases, belongs, also, that view expressed by Manu, according to which the soul, in its transmigrations, is reborn as an Apsaras, when it was, in its previous existence, under the influence of rajas or passion; and probably, too, the circumstance, that, in the Atharva-veda, they are fond of dice: and three Apsarases, whose names are given above, are supposed to have the power of removing faults committed at gambling with dice." CHAPTER XXII. Dominion over different provinces of creation assigned to different beings. Universality of Vishnu. Four varieties of spiritual contemplation. Two conditions of spirit. The perceptible attributes of Vishnu types of his imperceptible properties. Vishnu everything. Vishnu Purána. Merit of hearing the first book of the PARÁSARA.-When Prithu was installed in the government of the earth, the great father of the spheres established sovereignties in other parts of the creation.* Soma was appointed monarch of the stars and planets, of Brahmans and of plants,† of sacrifices and of penance. Vaiśravana was made king over kings, and Varuna, over the waters. Vishnu was the chief of the Ádityas; Pávaka, of the Vasus; Daksha, of the patriarchs; Vásava, of the winds. To Prahláda was assigned dominion over the Daityas and Dánavas; and Yama, the king of justice, was appointed the monarch of the Manes (Pitris). Airávata was made the king of elephants; Garuda, of birds; Indra, § of the gods. Uchchainśravas was the chief of horses; Vrishabha, of kine. Śesha became the snake-king; the lion, the monarch of the beasts: and the sovereign of the trees was the * यदाभिषिक्तः स पृथुः पूर्वं राज्ये महर्षिभिः । + Virudh. + Marut. § Vasava, in the original, 1 holy fig-tree. Having thus fixed the limits of each authority, the great progenitor* Brahmá stationed rulers, for the protection of the different quarters of the world. He made Sudhanwan, the son of the patriarch Vairája,† the regent of the east; Śankhapada, the son of the patriarch Kardama, of the south; the immortal Ketumat, the son of Rajas, regent of the west; and Hiranyaroman, the son of the patriarch Parjanya, regent of the north. By these the whole earth, with its seven continents and its cities, is, to the present day, vigilantly protected, according to their several limits. All these monarchs, and whatever others may be invested with authority, by the mighty Vishnu, as instruments for the preservation of the world; all the 1 These are similarly enumerated in the Váyu, Brahma, Padma, Bhagavata, &c., § with some additions; as, Agni, king of the Pitris; Váyu, of the Gandharvas; Súlapáni (Śiva), of the Bhútas; Kubera, of riches and of the Yakshas; Vásuki, of the Nágas; Takshaka, of serpents; Chitraratha, of the Gandharvas; Kámadeva, of the Apsarasas; Viprachitti, of the Dánavas; Ráhu, of meteors; Parjanya, of clouds; Samvatsara, of times and seasons; Samudra, of rivers; Himavat, of mountains, &c. 1 We have already had occasion to notice the descent of these Lokapálas, as specified in the Váyu Puráňa; and it is evident, although the Vishnu does not supply a connected series of generations, yet that both accounts are derived from a common source. * Prajapatipati. Professor Wilson had "Viraja". + एते सर्वे प्रवृत्तस्य स्थितौ विष्णोर्महात्मनः । विभूतिभूता राजानो ये चान्ये मुनिसत्तम ॥ § Also see the Bhagavad-gitá, X., 21-37; the Iswara-gitá, from the Kúrma-purána, in Colonel Vans Kennedy's Researches into the Nature and Affinity of Ancient and Hindu Mythology, pp. 450 and 451; and Goldstücker's Sanskrit Dictionary, pp. 279 and 280. kings who have been, and all who shall be; are all, most worthy Brahman, but portions of the universal Vishnu. The rulers of the gods, the rulers of the Daityas, the rulers of the Dánavas, and the rulers of all malignant spirits;* the chief amongst beasts, amongst birds, amongst men, amongst serpents; the best of trees, of mountains, of planets; either those that now are, or that shall hereafter be, the most exalted of their kind, are but portions of the universal Vishnu. The power of protecting created things, the preservation of the world, resides with no other than Hari, the lord of all. He is the creator, who creates the world; he, the eternal, preserves it in its existence; and he, the destroyer, destroys it; invested, severally, with the attributes of foulness, goodness, and gloom.† By a fourfold manifestation does Janárdana operate in creation, preservation, and destruction. In one portion, as Brahmá, the invisible assumes a visible form; in another portion, he, as Maríchi and the rest, is the progenitor of all creatures; his third portion is time; his fourth is all beings. And thus he becomes quadruple in creation, invested with the quality of passion. In the preservation of the world, he is, in one portion, Vishnu; in another portion, he is Manu and the other patriarchs; he is time, in a third; and all beings, in a fourth portion. And thus, endowed with the property of goodness, Purushottama preserves the world. When he assumes the property of darkness, at the end of all † The original is रजः सत्त्वादिसंश्रयः । + मरीचिमिश्राः पतयः प्रजानामन्यभागतः । things, the unborn deity becomes, in one portion, Rudra; in another, the destroying fire; in a third, time; and, in a fourth, all beings. And thus, in a quadruple form, he is the destroyer of the world. This, Brahman, is the fourfold condition of the deity at all seasons. * Brahmá, Daksha,† time, and all creatures are the four energies of Hari which are the causes of creation. Vishnu, Manu and the rest, time, and all creatures are the four energies of Vishnu which are the causes of duration. Rudra, the destroying fire, time, and all creatures are the four energies of Janárdana that are exerted for universal dissolution. In the beginning and the duration of the world, until the period of its end, creation is the work of Brahmá, the patriarchs, § and living animals. Brahmá creates, in the beginning. Then the patriarchs beget progeny; and then animals incessantly multiply their kinds. But Brahmá is not the active agent, in creation, independent of time; neither are the patriarchs, nor living animals. So, in the periods of creation and of dissolution, the four portions of the god of gods are equally essential. Whatever, O Brahman, is engendered by any living being, the body of Hari is cooperative in the birth of that being. So, whatever destroys any existing thing, movable or stationary, at any time, is the destroying form of Janárdana, as Rudra. Thus, Janárdana is the creator, the preserver, and the destroyer of the whole * विभागकल्पना ब्रह्मन्कथ्यते सार्वकालिकी । The Sanskrit is za:, “Daksha and the like”. Dhátŕi, in the original. § Here, and in the following sentence, "patriarchs" represents "Marichi and the like." |