Vṛtta, who was seething in anger, roared, “O wicked Indra! Murderer of my brother and of your Guru Vishwaroopa! It is my fortune that today you are here before me. This is the happiest day of my life. Very shortly I shall, with my trident, pierce your rock-like heart and shred it into bits. By doing so I shall free myself from indebtedness towards my father.

O Indra, you, who only seek heavenly comforts, are absolutely heartless. My brother was not only a Brahmin, but also Self-realized and supremely knowledgeable saint. Even though he was faultless and was engaged in religious austerities, you mercilessly butchered his head as if he was an animal.

O shameless one! Wealth, fame, compassion and shame have abandoned you, due to this heinous sin which even degraded man-eaters condemn. I shall, using my spear, shred your body into innumerable bits such that you wriggle and die in pain. Let your body become the food for vultures in this battlefield depriving you of even the last rites.

In this battlefield are many foolish, ignorant people who follow you blindly notwithstanding your degraded, cruel behaviour. Readied with weapons they are, unaware of my might, foolishly waiting to attack me. Using my trident I shall shortly sever their necks and appease ghosts and their leaders.

O valourous Indra! Contrary to this, if you butcher my head in this battlefield with that thunderbolt of yours, then my body shall become food for all vultures, eagles and other living organisms. I shall then be freed from all debts towards this world and shall reach those supreme planes where worthy virtuous people, who are freed from debts, reach and then I shall offer obeisance to their feet.

Indra, your enemy stands right in front of you. Why then are you hesitating to use your treasured weapon, the thunderbolt, upon me? Do not doubt that, akin to the mace you had hurled earlier, this weapon will fail in its mission. This thunderbolt, which is unfailing, cannot be compared to begging money from a miser. It can never go in vain. This thunderbolt which you hold is energized by Lord Srihari’s radiance and by Maharishi Dadhichi’s rigorous austerities. Moreover, Srihari has entrusted you with the task of killing me. Hence, why delay? Quickly hurl that weapon upon me now.

Indra, Srihari has sided with you. Victory, wealth and noble qualities always exist on that side where Srihari exists. Why do you dilly-dally and instill fear among my army men? Why am I wasting time by creating fear among your attendants? It is most appropriate that you kill me now using your thunderbolt. In accordance with the instructions of Lord Sankarśana, I shall now fix my mind wholly upon His lotus feet.

Your thunderbolt will, like a noose, in addition to removing my attachment to body also pull me away from attachment to sensory pleasures. Freed from all bondages I shall obtain that liberation which is obtained through Self-knowledge.

In all the three planes i.e. in heaven, on earth as well as in the lower planetary systems, the Supreme Lord does not shower material prosperity upon his devotees who have unflinching devotion towards Him primarily because material prosperity gives rise to hatred, fear, mental agitations, arrogance, quarrels and sorrow. Only the efforts put in to retain the wealth and property remain but there is no resultant benefit.

The merciful Lord cuts off the worthless efforts that his devotees put towards completion of dharma, economic prosperity (artha) and fulfillment of desires (kāma) and instead blesses them with the ultimate prosperity called liberation (moksha). From this, the magnanimity of His compassion and mercy gets highlighted.

This ultimate prosperity called liberation, which is beyond the reach of those who cling to material comforts and sensory pleasures, is effortlessly attained by those who exclusively seek Him” -said demon Vŗtta.

He further continued, “O Lord Srihari! I seek that I should be reborn as a servant of those servants of Yours, who have exclusively sought refuge in You and who ardently worship Your lotus feet! In that birth may this mind of mine eternally recapitulate Your transcendental qualities. O Supreme Lord! May my mouth be engaged solely in singing Your divine glories! May my body be eternally engaged in Your worship!

I seek that I should never be separated from You. O Lord, neither do I seek the luxuries of heaven, nor do I desire residence in Pole star (dhruva planet), nor the position of Brahma, nor emperorship over Rasātala or other nether regions, nor yogic accomplishments nor even that ultimate liberation which is freed from re-births.

Just as the wingless tiny birds eagerly await their mother’s arrival, just as hungry calves eagerly await to suck their mother’s udder, just as the grieving wife eagerly awaits the arrival of her dearest husband who is travelling to foreign lands, my mind longs to see you.

O Lord, my karmic bondages have thrown me into this endless cycle of re-births. May I be blessed with friendship with pure devotees who have unflinching devotion towards You. My mind is totally under the sway of objects such as body, children, wife and house. O Lord, I seek to develop dispassion towards them all. May I be freed from them all! May I never befriend any person who is even slightly inclined towards them!” In this way demon Vṛtta prayed to the Lord.

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

Sixth Canto Chapter Twelve

In this chapter Indra killing Vṛtta is explained.

Maharishi Śuka continued, “O emperor Parikshit! Vṛtta chose to die in the battlefield. He considered death in battlefield to be more glorious than victory in that battle. Instantly he held up his trident and as ferociously as demon Kaiṭabha had in the past pounced upon the Supreme Lord in the waters of dissolution, demon Vṛtta rushed towards Indra”.

He was desperate for Indra to hurl the thunderbolt upon him and towards this, he provoked Indra in various ways.

“In great rage Vŗtta held the trident up in the air, rotated it vigorously and then forcefully flung it upon Indra roaring, “O wretched sinner! This is the end of your life”.

The weapon flying in the air resembled a shining meteor which, with its illumination, blinded the eyes. Indra who was holding the thunderbolt, which had a hundred sharp edges, did not panic and instead with his powerful thunderbolt he smashed the trident into bits. More importantly, he then chopped off Vṛtta’s arm which was as thick as Serpent Vasuki’s hood.

Undeterred that he had lost his arm, Vṛtta took up an enormous iron mace, rushed speedily towards Indra angrily and stuck him on his jaw. He thereafter struck Indra’s elephant Airavata with it. The force of the attack was such that the thunderbolt slipped from Indra’s hand.

Hordes of Devatas, demons, Cāraṇās and Siddhās were astounded seeing Vṛtta’s valour and applauded him profusely. But when they realized the gravity of the situation, they feared for Indra’s safety and lamented shouting, “Oho, oho!”

Indra was embarrassed that his enemy caused the mighty thunderbolt to slip from his hand.

Adokṣajāya namah