Srimad Bhagavatam – day 344
As the Devatas shred into bits the weapons hurled by the demons, even while they were in space, the weapons could not harm them in the least. The demons who were now bereft of weapons began to hurl mountains, hills, boulders and huge trees upon the Devatas, however the Devatas easily shred them into innumerable pieces.
When these demons were fighting vigorously and brutally with the Devatas under the guidance and leadership of demon Vṛtta, the Devatas remained safe and sound. Even when mighty mountains and boulders were hurled upon them, they remained unhurt and unaffected. Seeing this, fear crept into the hearts of the demons.
Sarve prayāsā abhavan vimoghāḥ kṛtāḥ kṛtā deva-gaṇeṣu daityaiḥ
Kṛṣṇānukūleṣu yathā mahatsu kṣudraiḥ prayuktā ūṣatī rūkṣa-vācaḥ
Hurtful words and spiteful accusations hurled by insignificant people towards pious saintly persons do not disturb saintly persons even slightly. In the similar fashion, Devatas who were completely under the protection of Lord Srikrishna were unaffected by the weapons being repeatedly hurled upon them by the demons.
With this, feelings of arrogance and pride were completely washed away from the demons, who lacked devotion towards Lord Srihari. The power of the Devatas had multiplied by bounds. Seeing their might fade in front of the prowess of the Devatas, the demons began to flee from the battlefield abandoning their leader Vṛtta.
Vṛtta, the great hero who was filled with self-respect, saw the fleeing army. In order to instill confidence in them, he laughed and encouragingly said, “O Vipracitti, O Puloma, O Namuci, O Maya, O Anarva, O Śambara, please listen to me. Isn’t it a fact that every person born in this world has to die one day? There is absolutely no escape from death. Is it not a known fact that a person who embraces death while fighting in the battlefield will be blessed with higher realms? Will there be any person who will lose this opportunity of dying in a battlefield?
The two most superior types of deaths, in this world are very difficult to attain. The first is to merge the mind into the Supreme Lord, at the time of death, using devotion and dispassion as tools. The second is to unhesitatingly rush forward during the war, attack the enemy and meet death by succumbing to the wounds inflicted by the enemy’s weapons. This is called a hero’s death. Please do not lose this golden opportunity.”
With this the tenth chapter of the Sixth Canto comes to an end.
Sixth Canto Chapter Eleven
In this chapter, Vṛtta’s boasts and his prayer to the Supreme Lord are covered.
Maharishi Śuka continued, “O Parikshit, in this way Vṛtta explained righteous (dharmic) principles so as to instill confidence among all his army commanders. Nevertheless, the ignorant and foolish demons continued to flee from the battleground in fear without heeding his words.
Devatas found this an opportune moment and they instantly attacked the army from behind dispersing them in all directions. Noticing this Vṛtta was deeply agitated and saddened. With his power, he stopped the Devata army and roared violently,
“O Devatas, these demons are comparable to infants who have just stepped out of their mother’s laps. They do not know the war techniques and are fleeing in fright. Is it acceptable to attack them from behind? A true warrior never attacks a fleeing enemy from behind as he does it consider it a praiseworthy deed. Do you think that with such heinous deeds you will be able to attain meritorious planes? O worthless ones! If you are truly enthusiastic for war, are equipped with the required courage and are not thirsty for sensory comforts, then face my wrath for a moment”.
Vṛtta’s roared tumultuously rendering the three worlds lifeless. Hearing his roar, hordes of Devatas panicked, trembled and fell unconscious as if stuck by lightening. The arrogant Vṛtta held his trident and with his power caused the earth to tremble. The scared Devatas closed their eyes. Just as an elephant crushes the lotus plants when it enters the pond, demon Vṛtta entered the army of Devatas and trampled them with his feet.
Indra who witnessed this was infuriated. Seeing Vṛtta who was advancing towards him, he hurled a huge mace. Vṛtta however playfully caught it with his left hand. Demons applauded him.
Roaring deafeningly, he picked up a huge mace and forcefully hurled it towards Indra’s vehicle, the elephant Airavrata. Airavrata, which was badly injured due to this weapon, swirled round and round in unbearable agony as if it was hit by a thunderbolt and began to spit blood. Thereafter, together with Indra, who was seated upon it, it was thrown backwards by a distance of 8 mārās. It fell unconscious. Indra was saddened upon seeing his elephant swoon.
The noble minded Vŗtta, who followed the dharmic practices, however did not attack Indra who was unarmed. Meanwhile Indra touched the elephant with his nectarous hand and healed it completely before returning for war.
Indra was now standing in front of Vṛtta. Seeing Indra, who was holding the thunderbolt in his hand, Vṛtta recollected how he had killed his brother Vishwaroopa. Recollecting this cruel deed of Indra his mind was filled with agony and fury. With a frenzied laughter, he addressed Indra and said, “O wicked Indra! You are the murderer of my brother and of your Guru Vishwaroopa! It is my fortune that today you have arrived in front of me”.
Aniruddhaya namah