Vāsudevaya namah

Devatas continued, “O Lord You manifest as the Self within the living being and as Nature (Prakŗti) outside of him. In all times, places and conditions You exist as the individual soul within every living being and outside of him You exist as the Supreme Lord. You remain the sole witness for all mental activities of the individual soul. You, the Supreme Lord are the sole cause for the entire creation. We are comparable to the infinitesimal insects that hover around the gigantic fire”.

If You are the unimaginably huge fire, we can be compared to the innumerable infinitesimal insects that hover around it.

“O Lord, as the inner witness that exists within every being, our problems are not unknown to You. Please merge us into Yourself. You are the Guru for all Gurus. Your lotus feet drive away the afflictions of those who have surrendered unto them.

With a desire, we have sought refuge in Your lotus feet, O Lord. Hence please fulfill our desire. O Krishna, demon Vṛtta has gulped down all our energies, radiance, weapons and is now seeking to swallow all the three worlds. Please destroy Tvaṣṭa’s son Vṛtta.

Haṁsāya dahra-nilayāya nirīkṣakāya kṛṣṇāya mṛṣṭa-yaśase nirupakramāya Sat-saṅgrahāya bhava-pāntha-nijāśramāptāv ante parīṣṭa-gataye haraye namas te

O Srihari! We offer obeisance to You who manifest as the Sun. You, the embodiment of bliss, reside as the inner witness within the heart-space of all living entities. You who are of supreme renown are birthless. Noble saints hold on to You firmly during meditation. When the living being, who is a traveler in this journey called repeated re-births (samsara), surrenders to You, he gets liberated from it and reaches You”.

Pleased with this prayer, Srihari addressed the Devatas and said, “O Devatas, this hymn of yours is totally filled with Supreme Essence. I am deeply pleased with this prayer. This prayer will boost the devotion of humans towards Me. Although I exist as the Self, my supreme position as Ishwara will be remembered by the people. There is nothing impossible when I am pleased. Even then, ardent devotees who have unflinching faith towards Me, never seek anything other than devotion.

The ignorant who perceive this visible world as real will be eternally inclined towards it. Ignorant of where his welfare lies, such person eternally seeks worldly comforts and engages in fruitive rituals. Mahatmas who obtain Self-knowledge, which is a tool for Self-realization, will never preach the ignorant about fruitive actions that fulfill desires. Just as a doctor never prescribes harmful foods merely because the patient desires them, Self-realized Mahatmas will never seek to throw the ignorant further into the trap of illusion.

O Indra, now proceed to Maharishi Dadhici. You will be blessed with auspiciousness. Beg for his body which has been rendered sturdy due to his concentrated austerities, rituals and disciplines. Dadhici is a Self-realized jnani who has bestowed Demi-gods Ashwini-kumaras with jeevan-mukti (liberation) through Spiritual Knowledge called Aśvasiras. This supreme saint belongs to the Atharva veda.

He has blessed Tvaṣṭa with the sacred and powerful Narayana kavaca, which is impenetrable. Tvaṣṭa imparted this knowledge to his son Vishwaroopa from whom you obtained initiation. If you request, Dadhici Maharishi, who is an epitome of righteousness, is sure to give to you his powerful limbs.

Using these limbs Vishwakarma will create a very strong weapon. Empowered with my blessing you will chop Vṛtta’s head using that weapon.

Tasmin vinihate yūyaṁ tejo-’strāyudha-sampadaḥ Bhūyaḥ prāpsyatha bhadraṁ vo na hiṁsanti ca mat-parān

The moment Vṛtta is destroyed, all of you will regain your earlier radiance, weapons and energies. May you be blessed with auspiciousness! My devotees can never be harmed by anyone.”

With this the nine chapter of the sixth canto comes to an end.

Sixth Canto Chapter Ten

In this chapter, the war between the Devatas and demons is detailed.

Maharishi Śuka continued, “After blessing Indra in this fashion, Lord Srihari vanished. As ordered by Lord Srihari, the Devatas approached Maharishi Dadhici, who belonged to the Atharvana Veda and begged him for his body. Hearing their request Maharishi Dadhici was supremely pleased. With a charming smile he said to them,

“My dear Devatas! All living entities who have taken up a body suffer excruciating pain at the time of death such that they swoon. Nevertheless, they seek to continue to remain trapped in these worldly bondages as are extremely attached to their body. None in this creation would willingly give up his body even if Srihari has personally requested him for it”.

Even after undergoing excruciating pain the person who is on the death-bed wishes to live. Even at 99 years they pray, “if only my health would recover I could live peacefully.” Who can impart good knowledge to such person who are excessively attached to the world? Aniruddhāya namah