Srimad-Bhagavatam: Canto 8: “Withdrawal of the Cosmic Creations”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter Ten
The Battle Between the Demigods and the Demons
SB8.10Summary
The summary of Chapter Ten is as follows. Because of envy, the fight between the demons and the demigods continued. When the demigods were almost defeated by demoniac maneuvers and became morose, Lord Visnu appeared among them.
Both the demigods and the demons are expert in activities involving the material energy, but the demigods are devotees of the Lord, whereas the demons are just the opposite. The demigods and demons churned the ocean of milk to get nectar from it, but the demons, not being devotees of the Lord, could derive no profit. After feeding nectar to the demigods, Lord Visnu returned to His abode on the back of Garuda, but the demons, being most aggrieved, again declared war against the demigods. Bali Maharaja, the son of Virocana, became the commander in chief of the demons. In the beginning of the battle, the demigods prepared to defeat the demons. Indra, King of heaven, fought with Bali, and other demigods, like Vayu, Agni and Varuna, fought against other leaders of the demons. In this fight the demons were defeated, and to save themselves from death they began to manifest many illusions through material maneuvers, killing many soldiers on the side of the demigods. The demigods, finding no other recourse, surrendered again to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Visnu, who then appeared and counteracted all the illusions presented by the jugglery of the demons. Heroes among the demons such as Kalanemi, Mali, Sumali and Malyavan fought the Supreme Personality of Godhead and were all killed by the Lord. The demigods were thus freed from all dangers. SB8.10.1 TEXT 1 sri-suka uvaca iti danava-daiteya navindann amrtam nrpa yuktah karmani yattas ca vasudeva-paranmukhah SYNONYMS sri-sukah uvaca—Sri Sukadeva Gosvami said; iti—thus; danava-daiteyah—the asuras and the demons; na—not; avindan—achieved (the desired result); amrtam—nectar; nrpa—O King; yuktah—all being combined; karmani—in the churning; yattah—engaged with full attention and effort; ca—and; vasudeva—of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna; paranmukhah—because of being nondevotees. TRANSLATION Sukadeva Gosvami said: O King, the demons and Daityas all engaged with full attention and effort in churning the ocean, but because they were not devotees of Vasudeva, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, they were not able to drink the nectar. SB8.10.2 TEXT 2 sadhayitvamrtam rajan payayitva svakan suran pasyatam sarva-bhutanam yayau garuda-vahanah SYNONYMS sadhayitva—after executing; amrtam—generation of the nectar; rajan—O King; payayitva—and feeding; svakan—to His own devotees; suran—to the demigods; pasyatam—in the presence of; sarva-bhutanam—all living entities; yayau—went away; garuda-vahanah—the Supreme Personality of Godhead, carried by Garuda. TRANSLATION O King, after the Supreme Personality of Godhead had brought to completion the affairs of churning the ocean and feeding the nectar to the demigods, who are His dear devotees, He left the presence of them all and was carried by Garuda to His own abode. SB8.10.3 TEXT 3 sapatnanam param rddhim drstva te diti-nandanah amrsyamana utpetur devan pratyudyatayudhah SYNONYMS sapatnanam—of their rivals, the demigods; param—the best; rddhim—opulence; drstva—observing; te—all of them; diti-nandanah—the sons of Diti, the Daityas; amrsyamanah—being intolerant; utpetuh—ran toward (just to create a disturbance); devan—the demigods; pratyudyata-ayudhah—their weapons raised. TRANSLATION Seeing the victory of the demigods, the demons became intolerant of their superior opulence. Thus they began to march toward the demigods with raised weapons. SB8.10.4 TEXT 4 tatah sura-ganah sarve sudhaya pitayaidhitah pratisamyuyudhuh sastrair narayana-padasrayah SYNONYMS tatah—thereafter; sura-ganah—the demigods; sarve—all of them; sudhaya—by the nectar; pitaya—which had been drunk; edhitah—being enlivened by such drinking; pratisamyuyudhuh—they counterattacked the demons; sastraih—by regular weapons; narayana-pada-asrayah—their real weapon being shelter at the lotus feet of Narayana. TRANSLATION Thereafter, being enlivened because of drinking the nectar, the demigods, who are always at the shelter of the lotus feet of Narayana, used their various weapons to counterattack the demons in a fighting spirit. SB8.10.5 TEXT 5 tatra daivasuro nama ranah parama-darunah rodhasy udanvato rajams tumulo roma-harsanah SYNONYMS tatra—there (at the beach of the ocean of milk); daiva—the demigods; asurah—the demons; nama—as they are celebrated; ranah—fighting; parama—very much; darunah—fierce; rodhasi—on the beach of the sea; udanvatah—of the ocean of milk; rajan—O King; tumulah—tumultuous; roma-harsanah—hair standing on the body. TRANSLATION O King, a fierce battle on the beach of the ocean of milk ensued between the demigods and the demons. The fighting was so terrible that simply hearing about it would make the hair on one’s body stand on end. SB8.10.6 TEXT 6 tatranyonyam sapatnas te samrabdha-manaso rane samasadyasibhir banair nijaghnur vividhayudhaih SYNONYMS tatra—thereupon; anyonyam—one another; sapatnah—all of them becoming fighters; te—they; samrabdha—very angry; manasah—within their minds; rane—in that battle; samasadya—getting the opportunity to fight between themselves; asibhih—with swords; banaih—with arrows; nijaghnuh—began to beat one another; vividha-ayudhaih—with varieties of weapons. TRANSLATION Both parties in that fight were extremely angry at heart, and in enmity they beat one another with swords, arrows and varieties of other weapons. PURPORT There are always two kinds of men in this universe, not only on this planet but also in higher planetary systems. All the kings dominating planets like the sun and moon also have enemies like Rahu. It is because of occasional attacks upon the sun and moon by Rahu that eclipses take place. The fighting between the demons and demigods is perpetual; it cannot be stopped unless intelligent persons from both sides take to Krsna consciousness. SB8.10.7 TEXT 7 sankha-turya-mrdanganam bheri-damarinam mahan hasty-asva-ratha-pattinam nadatam nisvano ’bhavat SYNONYMS sankha—of conchshells; turya—of big bugles; mrdanganam—and of drums; bheri—of bugles; damarinam—of kettledrums; mahan—great and tumultuous; hasti—of elephants; asva—of horses; ratha-pattinam—of fighters on chariots or on the ground; nadatam—all of them making sounds together; nisvanah—a tumultuous sound; abhavat—so became. TRANSLATION The sounds of the conchshells, bugles, drums, bheris and damaris [kettledrums], as well as the sounds made by the elephants, horses and soldiers, who were both on chariots and on foot, were tumultuous. SB8.10.8 TEXT 8 rathino rathibhis tatra pattibhih saha pattayah haya hayair ibhas cebhaih samasajjanta samyuge SYNONYMS rathinah—fighters on chariots; rathibhih—with the charioteers of the enemy; tatra—in the battlefield; pattibhih—with the infantry soldiers; saha—with; pattayah—the infantry of the enemy soldiers; hayah—the horses; hayaih—with the enemy’s soldiers; ibhah—the soldiers fighting on the backs of elephants; ca—and; ibhaih—with the enemy’s soldiers on the backs of elephants; samasajjanta—began to fight together on an equal level; samyuge—on the battlefield. TRANSLATION On that battlefield, the charioteers fought with the opposing charioteers, the infantry soldiers with the opposing infantry, the soldiers on horseback with the opposing soldiers on horseback, and the soldiers on the backs of elephants with the enemy soldiers on elephants. In this way, the fighting took place between equals. SB8.10.9 TEXT 9 ustraih kecid ibhaih kecid apare yuyudhuh kharaih kecid gaura-mukhair rksair dvipibhir haribhir bhatah SYNONYMS ustraih—on the backs of camels; kecit—some persons; ibhaih—on the backs of elephants; kecit—some persons; apare—others; yuyudhuh—engaged in fighting; kharaih—on the backs of asses; kecit—some persons; gaura-mukhaih—on white-faced monkeys; rksaih—on red-faced monkeys; dvipibhih—on the backs of tigers; haribhih—on the backs of lions; bhatah—all the soldiers engaged in this way. TRANSLATION Some soldiers fought on the backs of camels, some on the backs of elephants, some on asses, some on white-faced and red-faced monkeys, some on tigers and some on lions. In this way, they all engaged in fighting. SB8.10.10-12 TEXTS 10–12 grdhraih kankair bakair anye syena-bhasais timingilaih sarabhair mahisaih khadgair go-vrsair gavayarunaih sivabhir akhubhih kecit krkalasaih sasair naraih bastair eke krsna-sarair hamsair anye ca sukaraih anye jala-sthala-khagaih sattvair vikrta-vigrahaih senayor ubhayo rajan vivisus te ’grato ’gratah SYNONYMS grdhraih—on the backs of vultures; kankaih—on the backs of eagles; bakaih—on the backs of ducks; anye—others; syena—on the backs of hawks; bhasaih—on the backs of bhasas; timingilaih—on the backs of big fish known as timingilas; sarabhaih—on the backs of sarabhas; mahisaih—on the backs of buffalo; khadgaih—on the backs of rhinoceroses; go—on the backs of cows; vrsaih—on the backs of bulls; gavaya-arunaih—on the backs of gavayas and arunas; sivabhih—on the backs of jackals; akhubhih—on the backs of big rats; kecit—some persons; krkalasaih—on the backs of big lizards; sasaih—on the backs of big rabbits; naraih—on the backs of human beings; bastaih—on the backs of goats; eke—some; krsna-saraih—on the backs of black deer; hamsaih—on the backs of swans; anye—others; ca—also; sukaraih—on the backs of boars; anye—others; jala-sthala-khagaih—animals moving on the water, on land and in the sky; sattvaih—by creatures being used as vehicles; vikrta—are deformed; vigrahaih—by such animals whose bodies; senayoh—of the two parties of soldiers; ubhayoh—of both; rajan—O King; vivisuh—entered; te—all of them; agratah agratah—going forward face to face. TRANSLATION O King, some soldiers fought on the backs of vultures, eagles, ducks, hawks and bhasa birds. Some fought on the backs of timingilas, which can devour huge whales, some on the backs of sarabhas, and some on buffalo, rhinoceroses, cows, bulls, jungle cows and arunas. Others fought on the backs of jackals, rats, lizards, rabbits, human beings, goats, black deer, swans and boars. In this way, mounted on animals of the water, land and sky, including animals with deformed bodies, both armies faced each other and went forward. SB8.10.13-15 TEXTS 13–15 citra-dhvaja-patai rajann atapatraih sitamalaih maha-dhanair vajra-dandair vyajanair barha-camaraih vatoddhutottarosnisair arcirbhir varma-bhusanaih sphuradbhir visadaih sastraih sutaram surya-rasmibhih deva-danava-viranam dhvajinyau pandu-nandana rejatur vira-malabhir yadasam iva sagarau SYNONYMS citra-dhvaja-pataih—with very nicely decorated flags and canopies; rajan—O King; atapatraih—with umbrellas for protection from the sunshine; sita-amalaih—most of them very clean and white; maha-dhanaih—by very valuable; vajra-dandaih—with rods made of valuable jewels and pearls; vyajanaih—with fans; barha-camaraih—with other fans made of peacock feathers; vata-uddhuta—flapping with the breeze; uttara-usnisaih—with upper and lower garments; arcirbhih—by the effulgence; varma-bhusanaih—with ornaments and shields; sphuradbhih—shining; visadaih—sharp and clean; sastraih—with weapons; sutaram—excessively; surya-rasmibhih—with the dazzling illumination of the sunshine; deva-danava-viranam—of all the heroes of the parties of both the demons and the demigods; dhvajinyau—the two parties of soldiers, each one bearing his own flag; pandu-nandana—O descendant of Maharaja Pandu; rejatuh—distinctly recognized; vira-malabhih—with garlands used by heroes; yadasam—of aquatics; iva—just like; sagarau—two oceans. TRANSLATION O King, O descendant of Maharaja Pandu, the soldiers of both the demigods and demons were decorated by canopies, colorful flags, and umbrellas with handles made of valuable jewels and pearls. They were further decorated by fans made of peacock feathers and by other fans also. The soldiers, their upper and lower garments waving in the breeze, naturally looked very beautiful, and in the light of the glittering sunshine their shields, ornaments and sharp, clean weapons appeared dazzling. Thus the ranks of soldiers seemed like two oceans with bands of aquatics. SB8.10.16-18 TEXTS 16–18 vairocano balih sankhye so ’suranam camu-patih yanam vaihayasam nama kama-gam maya-nirmitam sarva-sangramikopetam sarvascaryamayam prabho apratarkyam anirdesyam drsyamanam adarsanam asthitas tad vimanagryam sarvanikadhipair vrtah bala-vyajana-chatragryai reje candra ivodaye SYNONYMS vairocanah—the son of Virocana; balih—Maharaja Bali; sankhye—in the battle; sah—he, so celebrated; asuranam—of the demons; camu-patih—commander in chief; yanam—airplane; vaihayasam—called Vaihayasa; nama—by the name; kama-gam—able to fly anywhere he desired; maya-nirmitam—made by the demon Maya; sarva—all; sangramika-upetam—equipped with all kinds of weapons required for fighting with all different types of enemies; sarva-ascarya-mayam—wonderful in every respect; prabho—O King; apratarkyam—inexplicable; anirdesyam—indescribable; drsyamanam—sometimes visible; adarsanam—sometimes not visible; asthitah—being seated on such; tat—that; vimana-agryam—excellent airplane; sarva—all; anika-adhipaih—by the commanders of soldiers; vrtah—surrounded; bala-vyajana-chatra-agryaih—protected by beautifully decorated umbrellas and the best of camaras; reje—brilliantly situated; candrah—the moon; iva—like; udaye—at the time of rising in the evening. TRANSLATION For that battle the most celebrated commander in chief, Maharaja Bali, son of Virocana, was seated on a wonderful airplane named Vaihayasa. O King, this beautifully decorated airplane had been manufactured by the demon Maya and was equipped with weapons for all types of combat. It was inconceivable and indescribable. Indeed, it was sometimes visible and sometimes not. Seated in this airplane under a beautiful protective umbrella and being fanned by the best of camaras, Maharaja Bali, surrounded by his captains and commanders, appeared just like the moon rising in the evening, illuminating all directions. SB8.10.19-24 TEXTS 19–24 tasyasan sarvato yanair yuthanam patayo ’surah namucih sambaro bano vipracittir ayomukhah dvimurdha kalanabho ’tha prahetir hetir ilvalah sakunir bhutasantapo vajradamstro virocanah hayagrivah sankusirah kapilo meghadundubhih tarakas cakradrk sumbho nisumbho jambha utkalah aristo ’ristanemis ca mayas ca tripuradhipah anye pauloma-kaleya nivatakavacadayah alabdha-bhagah somasya kevalam klesa-bhaginah sarva ete rana-mukhe bahuso nirjitamarah simha-nadan vimuncantah sankhan dadhmur maha-ravan drstva sapatnan utsiktan balabhit kupito bhrsam SYNONYMS tasya—of him (Maharaja Bali); asan—situated; sarvatah—all around; yanaih—by different vehicles; yuthanam—of the soldiers; patayah—the commanders; asurah—demons; namucih—Namuci; sambarah—Sambara; banah—Bana; vipracittih—Vipracitti; ayomukhah—Ayomukha; dvimurdha—Dvimurdha; kalanabhah—Kalanabha; atha—also; prahetih—Praheti; hetih—Heti; ilvalah—Ilvala; sakunih—Sakuni; bhutasantapah—Bhutasantapa; vajra-damstrah—Vajradamstra; virocanah—Virocana; hayagrivah—Hayagriva; sankusirah—Sankusira; kapilah—Kapila; megha-dundubhih—Meghadundubhi; tarakah—Taraka; cakradrk—Cakradrk; sumbhah—Sumbha; nisumbhah—Nisumbha; jambhah—Jambha; utkalah—Utkala; aristah—Arista; aristanemih—Aristanemi; ca—and; mayah ca—and Maya; tripuradhipah—Tripuradhipa; anye—others; pauloma-kaleyah—the sons of Puloma and the Kaleyas; nivatakavaca-adayah—Nivatakavaca and other demons; alabdha-bhagah—all unable to take a share; somasya—of the nectar; kevalam—merely; klesa-bhaginah—the demons took a share of the labor; sarve—all of them; ete—the demons; rana-mukhe—in the front of the battle; bahusah—by excessive strength; nirjita-amarah—being very troublesome to the demigods; simha-nadan—vibrations like those of lions; vimuncantah—uttering; sankhan—conchshells; dadhmuh—blew; maha-ravan—making a tumultuous sound; drstva—after seeing; sapatnan—their rivals; utsiktan—ferocious; balabhit—(Lord Indra) being afraid of the strength; kupitah—having become angry; bhrsam—extremely. TRANSLATION Surrounding Maharaja Bali on all sides were the commanders and captains of the demons, sitting on their respective chariots. Among them were the following demons: Namuci, Sambara, Bana, Vipracitti, Ayomukha, Dvimurdha, Kalanabha, Praheti, Heti, Ilvala, Sakuni, Bhutasantapa, Vajradamstra, Virocana, Hayagriva, Sankusira, Kapila, Meghadundubhi, Taraka, Cakradrk, Sumbha, Nisumbha, Jambha, Utkala, Arista, Aristanemi, Tripuradhipa, Maya, the sons of Puloma, the Kaleyas and Nivatakavaca. All of these demons had been deprived of their share of the nectar and had shared merely in the labor of churning the ocean. Now, they fought against the demigods, and to encourage their armies, they made a tumultuous sound like the roaring of lions and blew loudly on conchshells. Balabhit, Lord Indra, upon seeing this situation of his ferocious rivals, became extremely angry. SB8.10.25 TEXT 25 airavatam dik-karinam arudhah susubhe sva-rat yatha sravat-prasravanam udayadrim ahar-patih SYNONYMS airavatam—Airavata; dik-karinam—the great elephant who could go everywhere; arudhah—mounted on; susubhe—became very beautiful to see; sva-rat—Indra; yatha—just as; sravat—flowing; prasravanam—waves of wine; udaya-adrim—on Udayagiri; ahah-patih—the sun. TRANSLATION Sitting on Airavata, an elephant who can go anywhere and who holds water and wine in reserve for showering, Lord Indra looked just like the sun rising from Udayagiri, where there are reservoirs of water. PURPORT On the top of the mountain called Udayagiri are large lakes from which water continuously pours in waterfalls. Similarly, Indra’s carrier, Airavata, holds water and wine in reserve and showers it in the direction of Lord Indra. Thus Indra, King of heaven, sitting on the back of Airavata, appeared like the brilliant sun rising above Udayagiri. SB8.10.26 TEXT 26 tasyasan sarvato deva nana-vaha-dhvajayudhah lokapalah saha-ganair vayv-agni-varunadayah SYNONYMS tasya—of Lord Indra; asan—situated; sarvatah—all around; devah—all the demigods; nana-vaha—with varieties of carriers; dhvaja-ayudhah—and with flags and weapons; loka-palah—all the chiefs of various higher planetary systems; saha—with; ganaih—their associates; vayu—the demigod controlling air; agni—the demigod controlling fire; varuna—the demigod controlling water; adayah—all of them surrounding Lord Indra. TRANSLATION Surrounding Lord Indra, King of heaven, were the demigods, seated on various types of vehicles and decorated with flags and weapons. Present among them were Vayu, Agni, Varuna and other rulers of various planets, along with their associates. SB8.10.27 TEXT 27 te ’nyonyam abhisamsrtya ksipanto marmabhir mithah ahvayanto visanto ’gre yuyudhur dvandva-yodhinah SYNONYMS te—all of them (the demigods and the demons); anyonyam—one another; abhisamsrtya—having come forward face to face; ksipantah—chastising one another; marmabhih mithah—with much pain to the cores of the hearts of one another; ahvayantah—addressing one another; visantah—having entered the battlefield; agre—in front; yuyudhuh—fought; dvandva-yodhinah—two combatants chose each other. TRANSLATION The demigods and demons came before each other and reproached one another with words piercing to the heart. Then they drew near and began fighting face to face in pairs. SB8.10.28 TEXT 28 yuyodha balir indrena tarakena guho ’syata varuno hetinayudhyan mitro rajan prahetina SYNONYMS yuyodha—fought; balih—Maharaja Bali; indrena—with King Indra; tarakena—with Taraka; guhah—Karttikeya; asyata—engaged in fighting; varunah—the demigod Varuna; hetina—with Heti; ayudhyat—fought one another; mitrah—the demigod Mitra; rajan—O King; prahetina—with Praheti. TRANSLATION O King, Maharaja Bali fought with Indra, Karttikeya with Taraka, Varuna with Heti, and Mitra with Praheti. SB8.10.29 TEXT 29 yamas tu kalanabhena visvakarma mayena vai sambaro yuyudhe tvastra savitra tu virocanah SYNONYMS yamah—Yamaraja; tu—indeed; kalanabhena—with Kalanabha; visvakarma—Visvakarma; mayena—with Maya; vai—indeed; sambarah—Sambara; yuyudhe—fought; tvastra—with Tvasta; savitra—with the sun-god; tu—indeed; virocanah—the demon Virocana. TRANSLATION Yamaraja fought with Kalanabha, Visvakarma with Maya Danava, Tvasta with Sambara, and the sun-god with Virocana. SB8.10.30-31 TEXTS 30–31 aparajitena namucir asvinau vrsaparvana suryo bali-sutair devo bana-jyesthaih satena ca rahuna ca tatha somah pulomna yuyudhe ’nilah nisumbha-sumbhayor devi bhadrakali tarasvini SYNONYMS aparajitena—with the demigod Aparajita; namucih—the demon Namuci; asvinau—the Asvini brothers; vrsaparvana—with the demon Vrsaparva; suryah—the sun-god; bali-sutaih—with the sons of Bali; devah—the god; bana-jyesthaih—the chief of whom is Bana; satena—numbering one hundred; ca—and; rahuna—by Rahu; ca—also; tatha—as well as; somah—the moon-god; pulomna—Puloma; yuyudhe—fought; anilah—the demigod Anila, who controls air; nisumbha—the demon Nisumbha; sumbhayoh—with Sumbha; devi—the goddess Durga; bhadrakali—Bhadra Kali; tarasvini—extremely powerful. TRANSLATION The demigod Aparajita fought with Namuci, and the two Asvini-kumara brothers fought with Vrsaparva. The sun-god fought with the one hundred sons of Maharaja Bali, headed by Bana, and the moon-god fought with Rahu. The demigod controlling air fought with Puloma, and Sumbha and Nisumbha fought the supremely powerful material energy, Durgadevi, who is called Bhadra Kali.