[Advaita-l] Avatar's body is transcended

[V Subrahmanian]

Thank you Venkatesh ji, for the efforts. It gave a good lot of joy reading
the material you have supplied. Krishna's virtue as sthitaprajna is
abundantly brought out by this episode. Incidentally, I recalled that
Durvasa is an incarnation of Lord Shiva. Here is one account of that. Maybe
there are other sources too:

http://www.gloriousindia.com/scriptures/puranas/shiva_purana/shivas_incarnation_as_durvasa.html

regards
subrahmanian.v

On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 11:09 PM, Venkatesh Murthy <vmurthy36 at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Namaste
> You have given me good homework exercise.
>
> This is from Anushasana Parva.
> 13144038a yAvad etat praliptaM te gAtreSu madhusUdana
> 13144038c ato mRtyubhayaM nAsti yAvadicchA tavAcyuta
> 13144039a na tu pAdatale lipte kasmAt te putrakAdya vai
> 13144039c naitan me priyam ity eva sa mAM prIto 'bravIt tadA
>
> Atri's son is Durvasa Muni. He was guest of Krishna once and he acted like
> a madman and asked for Payasam. He ate some hot Payasam and then
> asked Krishna to smear His body with hot Payasa from head to foot. Krishna
> did as Durvasa said. But Krishna left out the soles of His feet. Then
> Durvasa applied the Payasa to Rukmini also and like a madman he yoked Her
> to chariot like a horse and made Her to pull the chariot and whipping Her
> when She fell down. But Krishna and Rukmini did not complain and were
> happily doing all he asked.
>
> After Krishna and Rukmini did all the crazy things for Durvasa he gave
> Krishna many boons. It is explained in the Anushasana Parva Chapter 144. He
> gave boon Krishna will never be killed from any part he had smeared with
> Payasam. He left out only the soles of feet. Durvasa was not happy with
> that. But Krishna knew He also had to die and did not want to make his
> whole body protected. Therefore the hunter had to shoot the arrow at the
> sole of the foot. From Anushasana Parva -
>
> Of highly praiseworthy vows, he met me shortly after this and
> addressing me, said, 'O Krishna, I wish to eat frumenty without delay!'
> Having understood his mind previously, I had set my servants to prepare
> every kind of food and drink. Indeed, many excellent viands had been kept
> ready. As soon as I was asked, I caused hot frumenty to be brought and
> offered to the ascetic. Having eaten some, he quickly said unto me, 'Do
> thou, O Krishna, take some of this frumenty and smear all thy limbs with
> it!' Without any scruple I did as directed. Indeed, with the remnant of
> that frumenty I smeared my body and head. The ascetic at that time saw
> thy mother of sweet face standing near. Laughing the while, he smeared
> her body also with that frumenty. The ascetic then caused thy mother,
> whose body was smeared over with frumenty, to be yoked unto a car without
> any delay. Ascending that car he set out of my house. Endued with great
> intelligence, that Brahmana blazed with effulgence like fire, and struck,
> in my presence, my Rukmini endued with youth, as if she were an animal
> destined to drag the cars of human beings. Beholding this, I did not feel
> the slightest grief born of malice or the desire to injure the Rishi.
> Indeed, having yoked Rukmini to the car, he went out, desirous of
> proceeding along the high road of the city. Seeing that extraordinary
> sight, some Dasarhas, filled with wrath, addressed one another and began
> to converse in this way, 'Who else is there on earth that would draw
> breath after having yoked Rukmini to a car! Verily, let the world be
> filled with Brahmanas only! Let no other orders take birth here. The
> poison of a virulent snake is exceedingly keen. Keener than poison is a
> Brahmana. There is no physician for a person that has been bitten or
> burnt by the virulent snake of a Brahmana, 'As the irresistible Durvasa
> proceeded on the car, Rukmini tottered on the road and frequently fell
> down. At this the regenerate Rishi became angry and began to urge Rukmini
> on by striking her with the whip. At last, filled with a towering
> passion, the Brahmana leapt down from the car, and fled towards the
> south, running on foot, over a pathless ground. Beholding that foremost
> of Brahmanas flying along the pathless ground, we followed him, although
> we were smeared with frumenty, exclaiming behind him, 'Be gratified with
> us, O holy one! Endued with great energy, the Brahmana, seeing me, said,
> 'O mighty-armed Krishna, thou hast subdued wrath by the strength of thy
> nature? O thou of excellent vows, I have not found the slightest fault in
> thee! O Govinda, I have been highly gratified with thee. Do thou solicit
> the fruition of such wishes as thou pleasest! Behold duly, O son, what
> the puissance is of myself when I become gratified with any one. As long
> as deities and human beings will continue to entertain a liking for food,
> so long will every one among them cherish the same liking for thee that
> they cherish for their food! As long, again, as there will be
> Righteousness in the several world, so long will the fame of thy
> achievements last! Indeed, thy distinction will last so long in the three
> worlds! O Janardana, agreeable thou shalt be to all persons! Whatever
> articles of thine have been broken or burnt or otherwise destroyed (by
> me), thou shalt see restored, O Janardana, to their former state or they
> will reappear even in a better form! As long, again, O thou of unfading
> glory, as thou wilt wish to live, so long wilt thou have no fear of death
> assailing thee through such parts of thy body as have been smeared with
> the frumenty I gave thee! O son, why didst thou not smear that frumenty
> on the soles of thy feet as well? By not doing it, thou have acted in a
> way that is not approved by me! Even these were the words that he said,
> well-pleased with me on that occasion. After he had ceased speaking, I
> saw that my body became endued with great beauty and splendour. Unto
> Rukmini also, the Rishi, well-pleased with her, said, 'O beautiful lady,
> thou shalt be the foremost one of thy sex in fame, and great glory and
> achievements will be thine. Decrepitude or disease or loss of complexion
> will never be thine! Every one will see thee engaged in waiting upon
> Krishna, possessed as thou already art with a fragrant odour which is
> always present in thee. Thou shalt become the foremost of all spouses,
> numbering sixteen thousand, O Kesava. At last, when the time comes for
> thy departure from the world, thou shalt attain to the inseparable
> companionship of Krishna hereafter!' Having said these words unto thy
> mother, the Rishi once more addressed me and uttering following words,
> left the spot. Indeed, the Rishi Durvasa, blazing like a fire, said, 'O
> Kesava, let thy understanding be always disposed even thus towards the
> Brahmana!' Verily after uttering these words, that Brahmana disappeared
> there and then before my eyes.
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 5:50 PM, V Subrahmanian <v.subrahmanian at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Thanks for posting that portion where the widows of Krishna took to
>> various means.  Do you have information about this, from the original post:
>>
>> //Vasudeva, though he was the Supreme Deity, wished to die, for
>> dispelling all doubts and establishing a certainty of results (in the
>> matter of human existence), simply for upholding the three worlds and for
>> making the words of Atri’s son true. Having restrained all his senses,
>> speech, and mind, Krishna laid himself down in high Yoga.//
>>
>>
>> What had Atri's son prophesied?
>>
>> regards
>> vs
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 5:28 PM, Venkatesh Murthy <vmurthy36 at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Namaste
>>>
>>> This is from Mahabharata. Arjuna tried to protect the Vrishni ladies but
>>> many were kidnapped by robbers. He lost all his strength and became
>>> incapable of fighting.
>>>
>>> "After all the people had set out, the ocean, that home of sharks and
>>> alligators, flooded Dvaraka, which still teemed with wealth of every
>>> kind, with its waters. Whatever portion of the ground was passed over,
>>> ocean immediately flooded over with his waters. Beholding this wonderful
>>> sight, the inhabitants of Dvaraka walked faster and faster, saying,
>>> Wonderful is the course of fate! Dhananjaya, after abandoning Dvaraka,
>>> proceeded by slow marches, causing the Vrishni women to rest in pleasant
>>> forests and mountains and by the sides of delightful streams. Arrived at
>>> the country of the five waters, the puissant Dhananjaya planted a rich
>>> encampment in the midst of a land that abounded with corn and kine and
>>> other animals. Beholding those lordless widows escorted by Prithas son
>>> alone O Bharata, the robbers felt a great temptation (for plunder). Then
>>> those sinful wretches, with hearts overwhelmed by cupidity, those Abhiras
>>> of ill omen, assembled together and held a consultation. They said, Here
>>> there is only one bowman, Arjuna. The cavalcade consists of children and
>>> the old. He escorts them, transgressing us. The warriors (of the
>>> Vrishnis) are without energy. Then those robbers, numbering by thousands,
>>> and armed with clubs, rushed towards the procession of the Vrishnis,
>>> desirous of plunder. Urged by the perverse course of time they fell upon
>>> that vast concourse, frightening it with loud leonine shouts and desirous
>>> of slaughter. The son of Kunti, suddenly ceasing to advance along the
>>> path, turned, with his followers, towards the place where the robbers had
>>> attacked the procession. Smiling the while, that mighty-armed warrior
>>> addressed the assailants, saying, You sinful wretches, forbear, if ye
>>> love your lives. Ye will rue this when I pierce your bodies with my
>>> shafts and take your lives. Though thus addressed by that hero, they
>>> disregarded his words, and though repeatedly dissuaded, they fell upon
>>> Arjuna. Then Arjuna endeavoured to string his large, indestructible,
>>> celestial bow with some effort. He succeeded with great difficulty in
>>> stringing it, when the battle had become furious. He then began to think
>>> of his celestial weapons but they would not come to his mind. Beholding
>>> that furious battle, the loss of the might of his arm, and the
>>> non-appearance of his celestial weapons, Arjuna became greatly ashamed.
>>> The Vrishni warriors including the foot-soldiers, the elephant-warriors,
>>> and the car-men, failed to rescue those Vrishni women that were being
>>> snatched away by the robbers. The concourse was very large. The robbers
>>> assailed it at different points. Arjuna tried his best to protect it, but
>>> could not succeed. In the very sightof all the warriors, many foremost of
>>> ladies were dragged away, while others went away with the robbers of
>>> their own accord. The puissant Arjuna, supported by the servants of the
>>> Vrishnis, struck the robbers with shafts sped from Gandiva. Soon,
>>> however. O king, his shafts were exhausted. In former days his shafts had
>>> been inexhaustible. Now, however, they proved otherwise. Finding his
>>> shafts exhausted, he became deeply afflicted with grief. The son of Indra
>>> then began to strike the robbers with the horns of his bow. Those
>>> Mlecchas, however, O Janamejaya, in the very sight of Partha, retreated,
>>> taking away with them many foremost ladies of the Vrishnis and Andhakas.
>>> The puissant Dhananjaya regarded it all as the work of destiny. Filled
>>> with sorrow he breathed heavy sighs at the thought of the non-appearance
>>> of his (celestial) weapons, the loss of the might of his arms, the
>>> refusal of his bow to obey him, and the exhaustion of his shafts.
>>> Regarding it all as the work of destiny, he became exceedingly cheerless.
>>> He then ceased, O king, to make further efforts, saying, he had not the
>>> power which he had before. The high-souled one, taking with him the
>>> remnant of the Vrishni women, and the wealth that was still with them,
>>> reached Kurukshetra. Thus bringing with him the remnant of the Vrishnis.
>>> he established them at different places. He established the son of
>>> Kritavarma at the city called Marttikavat, with the remnant of the women
>>> of the Bhoja king. Escorting the remainder, with children and old men and
>>> women, the son of Pandu established them, who were reft of heroes, in the
>>> city of Indraprastha. The dear son of Yuyudhana, with a company of old
>>> men and children and women, the righteous-souled Arjuna established on
>>> the banks of the Sarasvati. The rule of Indraprastha was given to Vajra.
>>> The widows of Akrura then desired to retire into the woods. Vajra asked
>>> them repeatedly to desist, but they did not listen to him. Rukmini, the
>>> princess of Gandhara, Saivya, Haimavati, and queen Jamvabati ascended the
>>> funeral pyre. Satyabhama and other dear wives of Krishna entered the
>>> woods, O king, resolved to set themselves to the practice of penances.
>>> They began to live on fruits and roots and pass their time in the
>>> contemplation of Hari. Going beyond the Himavat, they took up their abode
>>> in a place called Kalpa. Those men who had followed Arjuna from
>>> Dwaravati, were distributed into groups, and bestowed upon Vajra. Having
>>> done all these acts suited to the occasion, Arjuna, with eyes bathed in
>>> tears, then entered the retreat of Vyasa. There he beheld the Island-born
>>> Rishi seated at his ease."
>>>
>>> On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 12:50 PM, V Subrahmanian via Advaita-l <
>>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Tue, Aug 29, 2017 at 8:06 AM, S Jayanarayanan via Advaita-l <
>>>> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> >  Here's the Mahabharata reference for Krishna letting go of the body
>>>> and
>>>> > "becoming" Narayana:
>>>> >
>>>> > http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m16/m16004.htm
>>>> >
>>>> > "The high-souled one, thinking of the destruction of the Vrishnis and
>>>> the
>>>> > Andhakas, as also of the previous slaughter of the Kurus, concluded
>>>> that
>>>> > the hour (for his own departure from the world) had come. He then
>>>> > restrained his senses (in Yoga). Conversant with the truth of every
>>>> topic,
>>>> > Vasudeva, though he was the Supreme Deity, wished to die, for
>>>> dispelling
>>>> > all doubts and establishing a certainty of results (in the matter of
>>>> human
>>>> > existence), simply for upholding the three worlds and for making the
>>>> words
>>>> > of Atri’s son true. Having restrained all his senses, speech, and
>>>> mind,
>>>> > Krishna laid himself down in high Yoga.
>>>> > A fierce hunter of the name of Jara then came there, desirous of
>>>> deer. The
>>>> > hunter, mistaking Keshava, who was stretched on the earth in high
>>>> Yoga, for
>>>> > a deer, pierced him at the heel with a shaft and quickly came to that
>>>> spot
>>>> > for capturing his prey. Coming up, Jara beheld a man dressed in yellow
>>>> > robes, rapt in Yoga and endued with many arms. Regarding himself an
>>>> > offender, and filled with fear, he touched the feet of Keshava. The
>>>> > high-souled one comforted him and then ascended upwards, filling the
>>>> entire
>>>> > welkin with splendour. When he reached Heaven, Vasava and the twin
>>>> Ashvinis
>>>> > and Rudra and the Adityas and the Vasus and the Viswedevas,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Here the translation should have been:  ...Rudra-s and Aditya-s....[
>>>> rudrAdityA
>>>> vasavashchAtha vishve ] [Rudrāścha ādityāścha rudrādityāḥ]
>>>>
>>>> Is there any reference to this in the Mahabharata:
>>>>
>>>> http://www.mythfolklore.net/india/encyclopedia/krishna.htm
>>>>
>>>> //Arjuna <http://www.mythfolklore.net/india/encyclopedia/arjuna.htm>
>>>> proceeded
>>>> to Dwaraka <http://www.mythfolklore.net/india/encyclopedia/dwaraka.htm>
>>>> and
>>>> performed the obsequies of Krishna . A few days afterwards the city was
>>>> swallowed up by the sea. Five of Krishna 's widows were subsequently
>>>> burnt
>>>> upon a funeral pile in the plain of Kuru
>>>> <http://www.mythfolklore.net/india/encyclopedia/kuru.htm>-kshetra.//
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> regards
>>>> subrahmanian.v
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> > and Munis and Siddhas and many foremost ones among the Gandharvas,
>>>> with
>>>> > the Apsaras, advanced to receive him. Then, O king, the illustrious
>>>> > Narayana of fierce energy, the Creator and Destroyer of all, that
>>>> preceptor
>>>> > of Yoga, filling Heaven with his splendour, reached his own
>>>> inconceivable
>>>> > region."
>>>> >
>>>> > https://sanskritdocuments.org/mirrors/mahabharata/txt/mbh16.itx
>>>> >
>>>> > sa chintayAno.andhakavRRiShNinAshaM; kurukShayaM chaiva mahAnubhAvaH
>>>> |
>>>> > mene tataH sa~NkramaNasya kAlaM; tatashchakArendriyasaMnirodham ||
>>>> 18||
>>>> >
>>>> > sa saMniruddhendriyavA~NmanAstu; shishye mahAyogamupetya kRRiShNaH |
>>>> > jarAtha taM deshamupAjagAma; lubdhastadAnIM mRRigalipsurugraH || 19||
>>>> >
>>>> > sa keshavaM yogayuktaM shayAnaM; mRRigAsha~NkI lubdhakaH sAyakena |
>>>> > jarAvidhyatpAdatale tvarAvAM;staM chAbhitastajjighRRikShurjagAma ||
>>>> 20||
>>>> >
>>>> > athApashyatpuruShaM yogayuktaM; pItAmbaraM lubdhako.anekabAhum || 20||
>>>> >
>>>> > matvAtmAnamaparAddhaM sa tasya; jagrAha pAdau shirasA chArtarUpaH |
>>>> > AshvAsayattaM mahAtmA tadAnIM; gachChannUrdhvaM rodasI vyApya
>>>> lakShmyA ||
>>>> > 21||
>>>> >
>>>> > divaM prAptaM vAsavo.athAshvinau cha; rudrAdityA vasavashchAtha
>>>> vishve |
>>>> > pratyudyayurmunayashchApi siddhA; gandharvamukhyAshcha sahApsarobhiH
>>>> ||
>>>> > 22||
>>>> >
>>>> > tato rAjanbhagavAnugratejA; nArAyaNaH prabhavashchAvyayashcha |
>>>> > yogAchAryo rodasI vyApya lakShmyA; sthAnaM prApa svaM mahAtmAprameyam
>>>> ||
>>>> > 23||
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Regards
>>>
>>> -Venkatesh
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Regards
>
> -Venkatesh
>