Hrishikesaya namah

(the progeny of the 27 daughters of Daksha given to Moon-god in marriage)

“Kṛttika and other stars are the wives of Moon-god. As a result of Daksha’s curse, Moon-god was inflicted with leprosy and suffered enormously. He remained childless. He subsequently pacified Daksha and got back the illumination that got destroyed during the waning fortnight.

Parikshit, now hear from me the names of the other daughters of Daksha, from whom the varied living entities emerged. These were the other wives of Kaśyapa Prajāpati. Aditi, Diti, Danu, Kāśṭa, Ariṣṭa, Surasa, Ila, Muni, Krodhavaśa, Tāmra, Surabhi, Sarama and Timi were the wives of Kaśyapa Prajāpati.

Timi gave birth to all the aquatic animals. From Sarama, ferocious wild animals were born.

Surabhi gave birth to all the cows, buffaloes and other animals with two-hooves. Tāmra gave birth to eagles, vultures and other carnivorous wild birds. Muni gave birth to hordes of Apsarasās (divine damsels).

From Krodhavaśa, poisonous serpents were born. Ila gave birth to trees and creepers. Surasa gave birth to demons. Ariṣṭa gave birth to Gandharvas. Kāṣṭa gave birth to horse and other animals with a single hoof.

Danu gave birth to 61 sons known as Dānavas. Prominent among them are Dvimūrkha, Śambara, Ariṣṭa, Hayagriva, Vibhāvasu, Ayomukha, Śankuśirasa, Swarbhānu, Kapila, Aruṇa, Pulomā, Vṛṣaparva, Ekachakra, Anutāpana, Dhūmrakeśa, Virūpākṣa, Vipracitti and Durjaya.

Among them, Swarbhānu’s daughter Suprabha was married to Namuci. Nahusa’s son Yayāti married Sharmiṣṭa, the daughter of Danu’s son Vṛṣaparva.

Danu’s son Vaiṣwānara had four daughters Upadānavi, Hayaśira, Pulomā and Kālaka. Hiraṇyākṣa married Upadānavi while Kratu married Hayaśīra. Based on Lord Brahma’s order Vaiṣvānara gave his other two daughters Pulomā and Kālaka in marriage to Kaśyapa Prajāpati.

Puloma gave birth to sons known as Pauloma. Kālaka gave birth to sons known as Kālakeyas. These were demons belonging to the Danu clan. They were undefeatable in war due to their unsurpassed might. O Parikshit, these demons belonging to the Pauloma and Kālakeya lineages would destroy Yagnas conducted by great sages. Your grandfather Arjuna destroyed all these demons when he was touring heaven. With this he brought great joy to Lord Indra.

Through wife Simhika Vipracitti, another son of Danu, begot 101 sons. Among them Rāhu was the eldest. The remaining 100 were known as Ketu. Rāhu became a planet. Emperor Parikshit, now I shall narrate the lineage of Aditi. Please listen. In that lineage the all-pervading Lord Nārayaṇa incarnated”.

To arrive at this point, we have to necessarily hear the entire lineage explained so far. All these lineages explained so far are our ancestors. We have descended from them. They are our fore-fathers. If we do not know about our origins and our ancestors then everything else is useless.

“Mother Aditi gave birth to Vivasvān, Āryama, Pūṣa, Tvaṣṭa, Savita, Bhaga, Dhāta, Vidhāta, Varuna, Mitra, Indra and Urukrama.

Samjñyā, the fortunate wife of Vivasvān, gave birth to Shrāddhadeva. Later she gave birth to twins Yama and Yamana. Yamana, while wandering on earth in the form of a female horse, gave birth to Ashwini-kumars. Vivasvān had another wife Chāya devi. Through her he begot Shani, Savarṇi Manu and a daughter called Tapati. Tapati married King Saṃvaraṇa.

Āryama married Mātṛkā and begot many worthy sons called Charṣana. They possessed discriminatory wisdom. Using them as the basis, Lord Brahma created human species. Puṣa was childless. Previously during Daksha yagna, when Daksha was cursing Lord Shiva, Puṣa had laughed derisively at Shiva showing his teeth. Veerabhadra, Shiva’s attendant, broke Puṣa’s teeth as a punishment. He therefore sustains only by eating flour.

Tvaṣṭa married Racana, the sister of demons. Through her he begot sons Sanniveṣa and Vishwaroopa. Once when Angirasa’s son Brihaspati, who was the Guru for the Devatas, was insulted by Lord Indra, he vanished from their presence. At that time Devatas chose Vishwaroopa, the son of Racana, who was the sister of demons as their Guru”.

With this the sixth chapter of the Sixth Canto comes to an end.

This is a wonderful description of the lineages. It explains the emergence of Devatas, demons, humans, birds, beasts, snakes, insects, plants and trees. In other words, the total expansion of creation is being detailed.

Damodaraya namah