Part 39 (2/2)
Vindhyavali said: - ”O Lord, Thou art the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer of Triloki. Who else could own it besides Thyself? It was the height of presumption to pretend to give the Triloki to you.” Brahma said: - ”O Deva of Devas, all-pervading Lord, thou hast taken away everything from this Bali. He has also given himself up entirely to Thee, without being moved in the least. He does not now deserve to remain tied up.”
Bhagavan said: - ”O Brahma, I take away all his riches from him whom I favor. For one proud of riches disregards both myself and others. When after many births the Jiva happens to become a man, and when in that birth he is found not to entertain any pride of birth, karma, age, beauty, wisdom, power, wealth and other things, you should know that to be my favor. One constantly devoted to me is not led away by anything apt to beget pride.
”This king of Danavas and Daityas has now conquered Maya. So he is not beside himself even in grief. His wealth gone, his position lost, himself overpowered and chained by enemies, forsaken by friends, reviled and cursed by his own preceptor, and what not, this Bali did not give up Truth.
”I will give him a place, difficult for others to attain. He shall be the Indra of Savarni Manvantara. Till then let him reside in Sutala. By my wish, the dwellers of Sutala shall have no mental or bodily pain, no fatigue, no sleepiness, no defeat and no misfortune. Bless thee, O Maharaj, go to Sutala with thy clan. Sutala is even wished for by those that dwell in Svarga. Even the Lokapalas shall not be able to overpower thee. What of others? If any Daitya does not follow thee, I will kill him by my Chakra. By all means I will preserve thee and thy followers.
There you shall always find me at your door. Thy Asura nature shall be there entirely destroyed under my influence.”
Prahlada was also ordered by Bhagavan to accompany Bali to Sutala. So they all went to Sutala.
THOUGHTS ON THE ABOVE.
We now find Bali shorn of all materialism and restored to spiritual purity. We can well understand the removal of Bali from the kingdom of Triloki, for the cyclic movement was tending that way since the last Manvantara, and the Devas were to have supremacy over Triloki. We have to study the future of Bali, as holding further light for us.
We must repeat here the distinction made between the two cla.s.ses of Asuras: Daityas and Danavas. The Daityas trace their origin to the gate-keepers of Vishnu. They had inherent Satva in them, which was eclipsed in their downfall. Therefore, though they acted as materialistic forces following the cyclic tendency, they were themselves not incapable of spiritual development Thus we find words of wisdom and spirituality in Vritra, in Hiranyakasipu, unselfish devotion in Prahlada, and complete resignation in Bali. Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu went back to their old place in Vaikuntha. Vritra became united with Sankarshana. Prahlada is immortal in his unselfish mission, and we have just heard the future of Bali. The Maruts become Devas after their very birth.
Therefore there is no extinction for the Asuras, except for those that do not follow Bali and do not place themselves under the influence of Vishnu. The cyclic weapon or Chakra is ever ready to destroy those that hopelessly go against the law.
Now a word about Sutala. The arrangement of Patalas as given in the text is the reverse of what they should be in point of spirituality, for Atala is the most and Patala the least removed from spirituality.
The influence of Vishnu does not extend beyond Sutala, and nothing can save those that transgress the limits of this nether plane. For in Vitala the destructive Purusha reigns and a pa.s.sage to that plane is only a door to utter extinction. And in Atala there is not a trace of spirituality, the work of destruction is already done, and mother Nature dissolves the material elements for some better use in future.
The special provision for Sutala is therefore a cyclic necessity. For Jivas have to be preserved from an undesirable end. Therefore Bali was given a post, the proud privilege of seeing that Jivas do not undergo utter extinction. Sutala was also fortified with an accession of spirituality.
The example of self-abnegation, the ideal of self-sacrifice, Bali is to become the king of Devas in the succeeding Manvantara.
THE MATSYA AVATARA.
*SKANDHA. VIII. CHAP. 24.*
Towards the end of the previous Kalpa, Brahma was falling asleep and the Vedas fell from his mouth. The Asura Hayagriva took them up. Seeing this Vishnu became a small fish. King Satyavrata was making Tarpana (_i.e._ offering libations of water), when the fish found its way into his hands. He threw it into the river. The fish implored the King to preserve him. So he took it home and placed it in a small waterpot. The fish increased in size so much that all tanks and rivers were tried, but they could not contain it. At last the king took the fish to the sea, but it implored him not to throw it away into the sea. The king then said: - ”This fish must be the Deity Himself, otherwise how could it grow so large?” The fish then addressed the king thus: ”On the seventh day from this, the Triloki shall be plunged into the Pralaya waters.
Then a big Ark shall come to thee. Take all plants, all seeds, all animals, and the seven Ris.h.i.+s with you and get into that ark. When the wind shakes that ark, tie it with a serpent to myself. I will remain with that ark in the Pralaya Ocean till the awakening of Brahma. I will manifest supreme wisdom in thee.”
So saying the fish disappeared and on the seventh day the Pralaya waters deluged the Triloki. Satya Vrata did as he was told. He got the highest wisdom from the Fish Incarnation.
That Satya Vrata is Sraddhadeva, our present Manu.
SKANDHA IX.
THE VAIVASVATA MANVANTARA.
<script>