Maharishi Śuka continued,

“For the well-being of all living entities, Lord Brahma appointed the ever-competent Lord Vāmana as the second Indra. He was entrusted with the lordship over all Vedas, all Devatas, righteousness in entirety, all renown, prosperity, rituals, auspicious deeds, of all heavens and of liberation. All the living entities were jubilant upon knowing this. Lord Indra along with all the Devatas sought Lord Brahma’s permission. They seated Vāmana before them in the celestial aircraft and flew to heaven. Indra, who had been protected by the arms of Lord Vāmana, regained authority over all the three worlds. Freed from all kinds of fear he now happily enjoyed all the riches.

O Emperor! Lords Brahma, Rudra, Sanat kumara, Bhrigu and other Maharishis, fore-fathers, Siddhas, all living entities and celestials such as Gandharvas who travel in airplanes were astonished seeing this unusual transcendental feat of Lord Vishnu. They glorified him profusely and then returned to their respective positions. They glorified Aditi, mother of Vāmana. ** Urukramasya caritaṁ śrotṝṇām agha-mocanam**

O Emperor! I have narrated to you in detail the wonderful story of Vāmana which describes his great valour. Those who listen to this story of Vāmana will be freed from all their sins. The human being who specially extols the unusual glories of this Supreme Lord will be that rare person who has counted the atoms on earth.

The Lord is complete in every respect. His transcendental glories are infinite. A human who has witnessed the end to His transcendental glories has not taken birth until now. Such a person does not presently exist nor will such being take birth ever in future. This has been declared by Maharishi Vasiṣṭha.

Ya idaṁ deva-devasya harer adbhuta-karmaṇaḥ Avatārānucaritaṁ śṛṇvan yāti parāṁ gatim

The wonderful divine sports of Srihari, the Lord of all Lords, cause untold astonishment. The person who attentively listens to this His divine incarnation as Vāmana will reach the ultimate final destination. Mahatmas declare that if this story is narrated during Yagna and other rituals conducted for Devatas, during death ceremonies conducted for ancestors, during marriages and other events, then that activity will attain completeness.

With this the twenty-third chapter of the eighth canto comes to an end.

Eighth Canto Chapter Twenty four

In this chapter, the Lord’s incarnation as a fish (Matsya) is being described.

Emperor Parikshit enquired from Maharishi Śuka, “O revered sage! Srihari’s transcendental glories are astounding. The very first incarnation assumed by Him using his Yogic energies was that of a fish. I am desirous of listening to the wondrous, astonishing transcendental deeds performed by the Lord when He incarnated as a fish. Humans desist the fish which is a form of tamas (ignorance, inertia). It is difficult to endure this painful form. Why did the independent free-willed Lord Srihari assume the form of a fish as if he is a bonded soul?

O venerable saint! The pure glories of Lord Srihari cause auspiciousness to all living entities. Please narrate to us this supreme story of the Lord as it actually took place”. When Parikshit requested thus, Maharishi Śuka began narrating the transcendental plays of Lord Srihari when He incarnated as a fish. He said,

“Although the Supreme Lord Srihari is independent, for the protection of cows, Vedas, Vedic scholars, Devatas, saintly persons, righteousness, wealth and other forms of prosperity He takes on various incarnations. Without any distinction the wind blows equally everywhere. It associates with every object high or low without acquiring any of their traits. Likewise the Supreme Lord who is absolutely devoid of traits exists within everyone in the form of the Self. The qualities of the individual inner mind, such as greatness or mediocrity, do not touch the Supreme Lord.

O Emperor! At the fag end of the previous Kalpa, when Lord Brahma was in deep slumber, a great dissolution took place. In that dissolution all the worlds, including earth, were submerged.

At the end of the period, Brahma was sleepy. At that moment the Vedas emanated from his mouth. Demon Hayagriva who was in the vicinity quickly stole the Vedas which had emanated from Brahma’s mouth. The Supreme Lord Srihari came to know of this. Immediately He assumed the form of a fish for the purpose of protecting the Vedas.

In that Kalpa, there was a great saintly king named Satyavrata, who was an ardent devotee of Lord Srihari. He was engaged in deep penance during which he lived only on water. In this Kalpa, Satyavrata is born as Śraddhādeva, the famous son of Sun-god. Srihari appointed him as the Manu, the ruler of the Manvantara period.

One day, Satyavrata who was the ruler of the Dravida deśa, was offering water oblations in the waters of River Kṛtamāla when a tiny fish appeared in the water that was held in his cupped hands. Satyavrata, who was of compassionate nature, released the fish along with the water into the river. Then the fish addressed the king and in a pitiable voice pleaded, “O King! You are compassionate towards the downtrodden. I am a helpless tiny fish. The big fish in this river kill even the other fish that belong to their own species. Why do you seek to throw me back into the waters when I am terrified of other fish here?”

King Satyavrata was unaware that the Supreme Lord himself had come to him in the form of a fish in order to uplift him. As he was filled with love, decided to help the fish which was pleading piteously. He gently placed the fish into his water-pot and took it to his hermitage.

Surprisingly, by next morning the fish had grown in size so much that it could no longer fit into his water pot. It addressed the king and said,

“O King! I am short of space in this water-pot and hence find it difficult to survive here. Please find me another larger water body in which I can live comfortably. The king then released the fish in a well. Within one hour the fish grew by 3 cubits. It once again called the king and said,

“O King, I am not comfortable in this well. I have sought refuge under you. Hence please provide me with another suitable water body”.

Without uttering a word the king took the fish from the well and released it into a pond. As soon as the fish touched the waters of the pond, playfully it began to grow in size”.

Vishnave namah