niruddha. Aniruddha
was imprisoned by Vana. It was to rescue Aniruddha that Krishna fought
with Vana, after having vanquished both Mahadeva and Kartikeya. The
thousand and one arms of Vana, less two, were lopped off by Krishna. The
episode of the love of Aniruddha and Usha is a very beautiful one.
1839. Saubha was the name of a flying city of the Danavas. Krishna felled
this city into the ocean, having killed all its Danava inhabitants. As to
Kala-yavana, his death was brought about by Krishna under the following
circumstances. Pursued by the Danava, Krishna took refuge in a
mountain-cave in which a king of the Satya Yuga was lying asleep.
Entering the cave, Krishna stood at the head of the sleeping king. The
Danava, entering the cave after Krishna, found the sleeping king and
awaked him. As soon as the king looked at the Danava, the latter was
consumed into ashes, for the gods had given a boon to the king that he
who would awake him would be consumed by a glance of his.
1840. The idea of Eternity without any conceivable beginning and
conceivable end was so thoroughly realised by the Hindu sages that the
chiefdom of Heaven itself was to them the concern of a moment. Nothing
less than unchangeable felicity for all times was the object they
pursued. All other things and states being mutable, and only Brahman
being immutable, what they sought was an identification with Brahma. Such
identification with the Supreme Soul was the Emancipation they sought. No
other religion has ever been able to preach such a high ideal. The
Hindu's concern is with Eternity. He regards his existence here as having
the duration of but the millionth part of a moment. How to prevent
re-birth and attain to an identification with the Supreme Soul is the
object of his pursuit.
1841. K. P. Singha has completely misunderstood the sense of verse 113,
Bhishma does not certainly mean that Brahman was unacquainted with the
narrative. What Bhishma says is that it was not to Brahman, but to the
Siddhas assembled in Brahman's abode, that Narada recited his narrative.
1842. K. P. Singha misunderstands verses 115 and 116 completely. The fact
is, Surya recited the narrative unto those that precede and those that
follow him in his journey through the firmament. K. P. Singha confounded
the two classes of persons together. The Burdwan translator, as usual,
makes nonsense of verse 116. The correct reading (as given in the Bombay
text) is lokan, the grammatica
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