Speech of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji – Tripura Rahasya Day 13 – January 16, 2022 – Mysore
Compiled by Parimala Eshwarla
Chapter 14
(We often hear of battle between demons & Devatas; we have heard of battle between humans & demons; but this is a unique battle between humans & Devatas).
Thereafter King Viravrata discussed with his ministers and determined to undertake austerities in an isolated place in the deep forests on the banks of a river.
In that isolated place, with absolute external sense-control and with a single-focussed concentration he meditated upon Chandrashekara (Shiva), the Lord of the universe. For five days, with a pure mind, he meditated exclusively on Shiva while consuming only water. From the 6th day, he gave up even water. He stopped sitting. Standing, totally restraining his mind and senses, lifting his hands up, he meditated exclusively on Shiva. (To undertake such penance, it is essential to have a strong body and strong senses. The mind and the intellect should co-operate. To achieve this, it is essential to lead a disciplined life. The person should strictly adhere to the vow of celibacy, strictly follow the rules of Grhasta dharma, follow some degree of mouna vrata. Only then such penance is possible).
He who was immersed in meditation was oblivious to the external objects or inner happenings. (Many close their eyes during meditation. They cannot see the external objects, but with their mind they travel. They see objects mentally, are lost in thoughts pertaining to desires- anger or have wasteful thoughts. They are engaged in mental sins).
In this way another 3 days he meditated. (As he had this intense concentration, the king was able to obtain the vision of Lord Shiva in just a few days).
On the evening of the 8th day, Lord Shiva, the giver of boons who treats his devotees as his children, manifested before him. He was seated on the back of a highly raised bull that was like the autumn clouds. He was seated on a saddle that was made of fresh precious stones, which was decorated with many pearls and on which a soft seat made of deerskin was spread.
He was glowing like pure crystal. He had matted locks, had retained the crescent moon as an ornament on his head, had three eyes and had worn snakes as his earrings. He was glowing with a reddish glow like the fully blossomed lotuses. His glowing face resembled the illumining moon.
His cheeks radiated with the reflection of the gems that adorned the hoods of the snakes on his ears. In his 4 hands, he held the skull, trident, deer (mrga), and axe. He had a serpent as his sacred thread. A garland of Rudrakshas beautified his neck. He was draped in tiger skin and had worn the elephant hide as his upper garment.
He was glowing with the many ornaments that glittered on his body. His limbs were beautiful and he was very pleasing to look at. On his left thigh, Mother Parvati was seated grandly. This ocean of compassion had smeared his entire body with ash. He was surrounded by the Pramatha-gana troops who were chanting Rudram.
That great Lord Shiva appeared before the king and, with sweet words, addressed him who was immersed in deep meditation. The noise made by Shiva’s attendants disturbed the king. He opened his eyes and saw before him the great Lord Shiva accompanied by his wife Ambika.
Holding his hands over his head, he fell flat to the ground and prostrated to Shiva. His body was filled with delight at the sight of the great Lord. His mind was submerged in deep bliss. The tears of joy from his eyes drenched him completely. Again and again, he bowed to Shiva and then said,
“O Parameshwara! You are an ocean of compassion. You shower happiness upon the world and ensure the well-being of the devotees. You are the protector of the universe and the punisher of the wicked. You have bestowed upon me the chance to see your feet which even the Devatas find hard to obtain. With pure eyes, I am seeing you. O ocean of compassion! Hence, on this human plane, there is none more blessed than me.
The heaps of merit earned in the previous births by the being enable it to obtain a human birth this time. Even in such human birth, it is only the past merit that helps him obtain a healthy body, strong senses and a pure mind. Yet, the humans abandon meditating upon you, the ocean of compassion, and instead get immersed in these worldly objects. Hence such humans are nothing but animals. Abandoning the path that uplifts them, they tread the wicked path and waste their lives. Their birth is truly condemnable.
Fruitful is the life of that human whose hands are engrossed in worshipping you, whose words are inclined towards extolling your virtues, whose eyes take delight in seeing your form, whose mind contemplates upon the Supreme Essence, whose ears long to hear your divine stories and whose feet love to walk to your residence and circumambulate it. He is the most blessed and fortunate in this world. He would have utilized his time nicely.
O Shankara! A person who, even for a fraction of a second, serves your lotus feet, will treat even the position of Indra as a straw. This being the case, why will he ever crave worldly comforts? Yet, what I seek now is very insignificant which the enlightened will ridicule for long.
Hence O Devadeva! Bless that I should weaken my inclination for these worldly objects. Despite knowing that they ultimately lead to sorrow, due to illusion and ignorance, humans crave only for them. I have no recourse barring you. I have no protector either.
Please cast your compassionate glance on me, who am helpless. That is what I seek. Salutations to you”- in this way, Viravrata extolled Shiva, the Lord who seeks the wellbeing of the universe. Then, with a mind that overflowed with happiness, he again prostrated to the Lord.
Shiva then descended from that bull and, along with Gowri, neared the king and touched his head. Lovingly he said, “My son! Get up. Tell me what you desire. In this creation there is nothing that my devotee cannot get”.
The king then got up, joined his hands and with a mind that was filled with detachment generated by seeing Lord Shiva’s lotus feet, said,
“O Mahadeva! Due to compassion if at all you seek to give me anything then, O Lord, ensure that I remain without desire towards worldly activities. I seek nothing barring serving your lotus feet. If you have compassion for me, then call me close to you”.
Shiva laughingly said, “My son Viravrata! At the fag end of your life, you will obtain sāmeepya with me. But now you go and conquer Manmatha who appears to be invincible. It can be said that barring me, there is none in the earth nor in heavens who can conquer him. Hence you conquer Kāma and rule the citizens righteously”.
Hearing this, the king again bowed to Shiva and said, “O Maheshwara! I have already told you that I do not want even a trace of worldly comforts. Please bless me. I seek nothing barring offering services to your lotus feet. I do not seek Lordship ever the three worlds. Nor do I seek emperorship.
O Lord of Lords! You had just now said that you will give me what I seek. Hence please do not change your words. I do not seek victory over the enemies. If I do not obtain sāmeepya with you, I will again undertake austerities. Else I will give up my life. O Devadeva! Instead of obtaining trivial boons, it is better to undertake penance again and obtain the chance to serve you”.
(Liberation is of 4 types- sāmeepya, sāroopya, sālokya and Sāyujya. Sāmeepya means to live nearby as an assistant; Sāroopya means to obtain the same form as the deity whom he worships and live in that world. Sālokya and Sāyujya imply merging into Him. Viravrata sought sāmeepya).
Lord Shiva said, “O King! Listen. You began the penance seeking to vanquish Manmatha (Kāma) i.e. you began penance with a desire in mind. Hence, this penance cannot go to waste. (The initial desire with which the penance is begun cannot go to waste). Had you begun this penance seeking Sāmeepya with me, you would have obtained it. Under no circumstances, can the original intent become a waste. However, the blessing that I had showered on you will not be wasteful.
Hence, first conquer Kāma (Manmatha, the Lord of desire), and enjoy the emperorship. While enjoying the regal luxuries, in the end, you will obtain real knowledge about me and obtain Sāmeepya with me. Shastras say that obtaining a real understanding of the real form (svaroopa jnana) bestows liberation.
(Shiva says that the king will obtain Sāmeepya. It implies he will acquire the Supreme Knowledge but will not bring it to experience. After shedding this body he will go to Shiva’s world. There he will serve Shiva, and through Shiva will hear Vedanta. With this, he will obtain liberation. Merely with seva, one cannot obtain liberation. While doing seva, they must obtain Jnana).
With my blessings, your mind will never get entangled in worldly activities and will remain pure. Do not worry”. Having said this, Lord Shiva vanished.
Thereafter, Viravrata recollected the Lord’s compassion, bowed to him, respected his command and turned mentally pure.
Meanwhile, Manmatha had conquered all humans, tied them with his ropes and now he arrived at Brahmavarta. Seeing the extraordinary beauty of this little boy, the residents of Brahmavarta forgot their homes and their works. They stood gaping at him in awe without batting an eyelid.
Addressing them angrily Manmatha said, “O Citizens! Quickly inform your king of my arrival to your land. Inform him that either he has to accept my command or has to fight with me”.
With this, the citizens realized that he was the boy about whom they had heard. Screaming loudly “Oho! What difficulty has arisen! We wonder what will happen to the children, to the brothers, parents and friends”- they ran in haste from there. “Run from here, run away”- they were screaming.
As the news spread across the land, all the citizens began to run. Within a second, the city resembled the ocean that has breached its shores. The uproar of the people made the situation chaotic.
The guards who were stationed at the fort and the army commanders readied their weapons. Holding their arrows and other weapons, the soldiers mounted their vehicles and set out for war.
Then, the highly valiant army chief commander Sudhrti quickly positioned the army outside the city. Stationing the chief doorkeepers at the fort entrances and some extremely valiant warriors at all important junctions in the fort, he quickly hastened to Minister Vardhana’s house.
By then Vardhana had placed important body guards to guard the inner apartments of the palace, and had sent messengers who travelled at the fastest speeds, to quickly inform the king. He also ensured that the information was given to all the princes and the ministers. Having completed these tasks, he set out from his home when he noticed Sudhrti coming to meet him.
Chief commander Sudhrti bowed to Minister Vardhana and said, “O Minister! I have sent the soldiers along with the commanders with instructions to restrain Manmatha. I have stationed soldiers at every junction for fort protection. I have instilled courage into the fleeing citizens and ensured that they return to their homes. I shall now go and bring Shantrunjaya and other princes. Very quickly I shall leave for the battlefield”.
Even as Sudhrti was saying this, all the princes who were glowing with armies surrounding them, already set out for the battlefield.
Shantrunjaya, Shatruha, Bhima and Samara-tāpana were the 4 princes who in might were like Indra and were extremely valourous. Glowing with their crowns, earrings and other ornaments, they who were masters in all branches of weaponry were equipped for war with weaponry as powerful as the Vajrayudha.
They had mounted chariots that were driven by horses that glowed like the Sun and were surrounded by attendants who were fanning them and singing their glories.
Sudhriti came there, stood before the army, mounted the elephant and while directing the army moved in front of the princes. The princes then said to Minister Vardhana, “Along with soldiers carefully safeguard the city. Through the spies obtain all the news of the city along with the inner-palaces and protect it”.
Vardhana said, “Dear princes! Go with the armies. As long as I am alive there will be no lapse in my duty. I shall complete all the arrangements necessary for the continuance of the battle. I have completed everything that was required to be done until now. Along with the army commanders fight vigilantly”.
By then the royal priest arrived surrounded by Brahmins and learned scholars. Seeing him, all the princes got down from their chariots, bowed to him and with lowered heads stood humbly.
The royal priest blessed them by enquiring about their wellbeing. He applied auspicious tilak on their foreheads. He touched their shoulders and other body parts and blessed them. While mentioning the names of the most important soldiers, he tied amulets to them while chanting mantras.
Then he prayed to Shiva as follows,
Agrē śivōrakshatu tvām śūlapāṇi strilōcanaḥ
Pinākī pṛṣṭatah pāṛśvē pāśa hastōmahēśvaraḥ
Mūrdhānam jatilastē’ vyāt hastāu sarva vibhūṣaṇaḥ
Kālāgni nayanō vakṣaḥ kaṭim karōṭita vakpaṭaḥ
Rudrākṣa bhūṣaṇaḥ kukṣiṃ kapālī pādayugmakam
Puṣpavaddrk pṛṣṭha dēśam sarvataḥ śrī sivam karaḥ
May the three-eyed Lord Shiva who holds the spear in his hand protect you from the front! May Lord Shiva who holds the Pinaka weapon protect you from the back! May Lord Shiva who illumines with his matted locks protect your head! May Lord Shiva who is ornamented properly protect your hands! May Lord Shiva who has the eye of the destructive fire protect your chest! In this way may he bring success to you.
May Lord Shiva who wears elephant garment protect your waist! May Lord Shiva who wears the Rudraksha protect your stomach! May Shiva who has the Sun and Moon as his eyes protect your back! May Shiva who holds the skull protect your feet!”
With this prayer, he individually blessed all the princes and the army commanders.
This is anga-raksha or beseeching the Lord to bless every limb. After this, the royal priest performed the dik-raksha or seeking Lord’s protection from all 8 directions.
After completing the rituals, he applied the sanctified vibhuti to everyone and made them offer many supreme charities. After the completion of all the rituals, the princes bowed to him. The royal priest Vidyapati then left.
All the warriors roared so loudly that it reverberated through the skies. The soldiers roared like lions. Some loudly blew conches. Drums, kettle drums, bugles were sounded. Everyone followed the princes.
The neighing of the horses, the roaring of the soldiers, the cries of the elephants, the sounds of the moving chariots, the twanging of the bows, the thumping of the arms- and many other such sounds appeared as if they would rip apart the centre of the earth.
The army that set out from the fortress appeared like a massive ocean that was overflowing. It appeared as if it would shred the hearts of the frightened people. It was like another ocean that had emerged from the earth. The army set out for battle.
Sri matre namah