SECTION XXXVI.Parāçara said:—Listen, O Maitreya, to another achievement accomplished by the powerful Balarāma. The great Asura, Naraka, the enemy of the friends of the celestials, had a friend of exceeding might in a monkey named Dwivida, who was worked up with implacable hostility against the celestials, and vowed to revenge on all of them the destruction of Naraka by Krishna at the instigation of the king of the celestials, by preventing sacrifices and bringing about the total destruction of the world. Blinded by ignorance therefore, he interrupted all religious practices, put down all righteous observances, and brought about the death of living creatures; he set fire to forests, to villages and towns; sometimes he deluged cities and villages with a downpour of rocks or lifting up mountains in the waters he cast them into the ocean; then placing himself in the midst of the deep, he agitated the waves until the foaming sea rose above its confines and swept away the villages and cities situated upon its shores. Dwivida, who was capable of assuming shapes as he liked, enlarged his bulk to an immense proportion, and rolling and tumbling and trampling amidst the corn-fields, he crushed and spoiled the harvest. The whole world, disorganised by this vicious monkey, was deprived of sacred study and religious ceremonies, and was greatly afflicted.Once on a time Halāyudha was drinking in the groves of Raivata along with the illustrious Revati and other beautiful females; and the celebrated Yadu whose glories were sung and who was pre-eminent amidst graceful and sportive women, resembled Kuvera, the god of riches, in his palace. In the meantime, the monkey Dwivida came there and stealing the ploughshare and the club of Balarāma, grinned at and mocked him, and laughed at the women and threw over and broke the cups filled with wine. Enraged at this, Balarāma threatened the monkey; but the latter disregarded his threats and chattering noise. Thereupon Balarāma started up and seized his club in anger, and the monkey laid hold of a large rock which he hurled at the hero. And casting his club at it as it approached him, Bala broke it into a thousand pieces, which together with the club, fell upon the ground. Beholding the club thus fallen, the monkey sprang over it and struck the Yādava violently on the breast with his paws. Bala returned it with a blow of his fist upon the fore-head of Dwivida which felled him, vomiting blood and lifeless to the earth. The crest of the mountain on which he fell was sundered into a hundred pieces by the weight of his body, as if the Thunderer had shivered it with his thunder-bolt. The celestials threw down a shower of flowers upon Rāma and approached him and praised him for the glorious feat he had performed."Well has the world been freed" said they "by thy prowess, O hero, of his vile ape, who was the enemy of the celestials". Then well pleased, they and their attendant spirits returned to heaven. Many such inimitable deeds were performed by the illustrious Baladeva, the impersonation of Sesha, the supporter of the earth.
SECTION XXXVI.Parāçara said:—Listen, O Maitreya, to another achievement accomplished by the powerful Balarāma. The great Asura, Naraka, the enemy of the friends of the celestials, had a friend of exceeding might in a monkey named Dwivida, who was worked up with implacable hostility against the celestials, and vowed to revenge on all of them the destruction of Naraka by Krishna at the instigation of the king of the celestials, by preventing sacrifices and bringing about the total destruction of the world. Blinded by ignorance therefore, he interrupted all religious practices, put down all righteous observances, and brought about the death of living creatures; he set fire to forests, to villages and towns; sometimes he deluged cities and villages with a downpour of rocks or lifting up mountains in the waters he cast them into the ocean; then placing himself in the midst of the deep, he agitated the waves until the foaming sea rose above its confines and swept away the villages and cities situated upon its shores. Dwivida, who was capable of assuming shapes as he liked, enlarged his bulk to an immense proportion, and rolling and tumbling and trampling amidst the corn-fields, he crushed and spoiled the harvest. The whole world, disorganised by this vicious monkey, was deprived of sacred study and religious ceremonies, and was greatly afflicted.Once on a time Halāyudha was drinking in the groves of Raivata along with the illustrious Revati and other beautiful females; and the celebrated Yadu whose glories were sung and who was pre-eminent amidst graceful and sportive women, resembled Kuvera, the god of riches, in his palace. In the meantime, the monkey Dwivida came there and stealing the ploughshare and the club of Balarāma, grinned at and mocked him, and laughed at the women and threw over and broke the cups filled with wine. Enraged at this, Balarāma threatened the monkey; but the latter disregarded his threats and chattering noise. Thereupon Balarāma started up and seized his club in anger, and the monkey laid hold of a large rock which he hurled at the hero. And casting his club at it as it approached him, Bala broke it into a thousand pieces, which together with the club, fell upon the ground. Beholding the club thus fallen, the monkey sprang over it and struck the Yādava violently on the breast with his paws. Bala returned it with a blow of his fist upon the fore-head of Dwivida which felled him, vomiting blood and lifeless to the earth. The crest of the mountain on which he fell was sundered into a hundred pieces by the weight of his body, as if the Thunderer had shivered it with his thunder-bolt. The celestials threw down a shower of flowers upon Rāma and approached him and praised him for the glorious feat he had performed."Well has the world been freed" said they "by thy prowess, O hero, of his vile ape, who was the enemy of the celestials". Then well pleased, they and their attendant spirits returned to heaven. Many such inimitable deeds were performed by the illustrious Baladeva, the impersonation of Sesha, the supporter of the earth.
SECTION XXXVI.Parāçara said:—Listen, O Maitreya, to another achievement accomplished by the powerful Balarāma. The great Asura, Naraka, the enemy of the friends of the celestials, had a friend of exceeding might in a monkey named Dwivida, who was worked up with implacable hostility against the celestials, and vowed to revenge on all of them the destruction of Naraka by Krishna at the instigation of the king of the celestials, by preventing sacrifices and bringing about the total destruction of the world. Blinded by ignorance therefore, he interrupted all religious practices, put down all righteous observances, and brought about the death of living creatures; he set fire to forests, to villages and towns; sometimes he deluged cities and villages with a downpour of rocks or lifting up mountains in the waters he cast them into the ocean; then placing himself in the midst of the deep, he agitated the waves until the foaming sea rose above its confines and swept away the villages and cities situated upon its shores. Dwivida, who was capable of assuming shapes as he liked, enlarged his bulk to an immense proportion, and rolling and tumbling and trampling amidst the corn-fields, he crushed and spoiled the harvest. The whole world, disorganised by this vicious monkey, was deprived of sacred study and religious ceremonies, and was greatly afflicted.Once on a time Halāyudha was drinking in the groves of Raivata along with the illustrious Revati and other beautiful females; and the celebrated Yadu whose glories were sung and who was pre-eminent amidst graceful and sportive women, resembled Kuvera, the god of riches, in his palace. In the meantime, the monkey Dwivida came there and stealing the ploughshare and the club of Balarāma, grinned at and mocked him, and laughed at the women and threw over and broke the cups filled with wine. Enraged at this, Balarāma threatened the monkey; but the latter disregarded his threats and chattering noise. Thereupon Balarāma started up and seized his club in anger, and the monkey laid hold of a large rock which he hurled at the hero. And casting his club at it as it approached him, Bala broke it into a thousand pieces, which together with the club, fell upon the ground. Beholding the club thus fallen, the monkey sprang over it and struck the Yādava violently on the breast with his paws. Bala returned it with a blow of his fist upon the fore-head of Dwivida which felled him, vomiting blood and lifeless to the earth. The crest of the mountain on which he fell was sundered into a hundred pieces by the weight of his body, as if the Thunderer had shivered it with his thunder-bolt. The celestials threw down a shower of flowers upon Rāma and approached him and praised him for the glorious feat he had performed."Well has the world been freed" said they "by thy prowess, O hero, of his vile ape, who was the enemy of the celestials". Then well pleased, they and their attendant spirits returned to heaven. Many such inimitable deeds were performed by the illustrious Baladeva, the impersonation of Sesha, the supporter of the earth.
Parāçara said:—Listen, O Maitreya, to another achievement accomplished by the powerful Balarāma. The great Asura, Naraka, the enemy of the friends of the celestials, had a friend of exceeding might in a monkey named Dwivida, who was worked up with implacable hostility against the celestials, and vowed to revenge on all of them the destruction of Naraka by Krishna at the instigation of the king of the celestials, by preventing sacrifices and bringing about the total destruction of the world. Blinded by ignorance therefore, he interrupted all religious practices, put down all righteous observances, and brought about the death of living creatures; he set fire to forests, to villages and towns; sometimes he deluged cities and villages with a downpour of rocks or lifting up mountains in the waters he cast them into the ocean; then placing himself in the midst of the deep, he agitated the waves until the foaming sea rose above its confines and swept away the villages and cities situated upon its shores. Dwivida, who was capable of assuming shapes as he liked, enlarged his bulk to an immense proportion, and rolling and tumbling and trampling amidst the corn-fields, he crushed and spoiled the harvest. The whole world, disorganised by this vicious monkey, was deprived of sacred study and religious ceremonies, and was greatly afflicted.
Once on a time Halāyudha was drinking in the groves of Raivata along with the illustrious Revati and other beautiful females; and the celebrated Yadu whose glories were sung and who was pre-eminent amidst graceful and sportive women, resembled Kuvera, the god of riches, in his palace. In the meantime, the monkey Dwivida came there and stealing the ploughshare and the club of Balarāma, grinned at and mocked him, and laughed at the women and threw over and broke the cups filled with wine. Enraged at this, Balarāma threatened the monkey; but the latter disregarded his threats and chattering noise. Thereupon Balarāma started up and seized his club in anger, and the monkey laid hold of a large rock which he hurled at the hero. And casting his club at it as it approached him, Bala broke it into a thousand pieces, which together with the club, fell upon the ground. Beholding the club thus fallen, the monkey sprang over it and struck the Yādava violently on the breast with his paws. Bala returned it with a blow of his fist upon the fore-head of Dwivida which felled him, vomiting blood and lifeless to the earth. The crest of the mountain on which he fell was sundered into a hundred pieces by the weight of his body, as if the Thunderer had shivered it with his thunder-bolt. The celestials threw down a shower of flowers upon Rāma and approached him and praised him for the glorious feat he had performed.
"Well has the world been freed" said they "by thy prowess, O hero, of his vile ape, who was the enemy of the celestials". Then well pleased, they and their attendant spirits returned to heaven. Many such inimitable deeds were performed by the illustrious Baladeva, the impersonation of Sesha, the supporter of the earth.