HRASVA BHAGAVATHAM - CANTO 8- PART 1

                                      HRASVABHAGAVATHAM   - CANTO  -8
                                                          स्कन्ध: -  ८

In this Canto-8 the 6th quality of the Puranam called मन्वन्त्तर    ( MANVANTHARA ) is the subject matter. The मन्वन्त्तर means that the day of Brahma , which is called a कल्प is subdivided into 14 periods. Each period is called a मन्वन्त्तर .. In the Canto-2 chapter 10-verse 4 , it was explained that मन्वन्त्तराणि   सद्धर्म -- meaning that by practising सद्धर्म -- by doing righteous acts the jivas or the living beings can get liberation from the births and deaths called samsara. In elaborating this, Sri SRIDHARACHARYA'S commentary describes in the beginning thus:

SRIDHARACHRYA says that by practising the righteous acts the human beings will not go to hell..

Sri Vishvanatha Chakravarthi's Sarartha Darshani and Sri Giridhara swami's Bala Prabodhini also in their commentaries respectively express the contents of this Canto 8 as follows:

In Canto-3, the Swayabhuva Manu and his descendants , and his daughter Devahuthi's progeny -were described in detail .In Canto-4 , the other two daughters of Swayambhuva Manu by names Akuthi and Devahuthi and Prasuthi -their daughters descendants were desrcribed first, and out of his two sons- Uttanapada's descendants were described. In Canto-5, Priyavratha- the eldest son of Manu and his descendants were expounded. In Canto-6 the remaining descendants of Uttanapada were accounted for. In Canto-7, also in the guise of describing the descendants of Swayambhuva Manu , incarnation of Bhagavan Vishnu - his guna and quality of protecting His devotees and His actions in the incarnations of Varaha and Nrusimha also explained in detail. In Canto -8, all the fourteen manvanthras ( the period a manu rules in the kalpa ) ,right from the first Swayambhuva Manu and the remaining 13 Manus also are being described. The various incarnations of Vishnu in these 14 manvantharas or periods and His actions or protection of His devotees are the topics in this Canto-8 .

Sri Giridhara Goswami expresses his view of this Canto-8 as :

In Canto -7, the Uthi leela was the topic and in Canto-8 Manvantara leela is the topic

 

 मन्वन्तराणि सद्धर्म : मन्वादिभि: सद्भि : प्रवर्तित: सद्धर्म: meaning that the righteous acts were practised by all Manus. Further Manus, the sons of Manus,Indras,Devas, Rishis and the incarnations of Hari in the particular manvanthara (amshavathara of Hari )- these six are the supporters of सद्धर्म: (Righteous Acts ).To illustrate that the 24 qualities of प्रकृति are the sources of वासना ( which causes the actions in the living beings through the three modes-satva,rajas and tamo ),there are 24 chapters in this Canto.There are four (4) Topics or Prakaranas in this Canto

1) आपत्सु हरि स्मरणं - In calamities one should remember Hari always- To illustrate this the first 4 chapters describe Gajendra Moksham.Gajendra surrendered himself while in a great calamity

2)संपत्सु च सर्वदानानि - When we are affluent enough in life we should donate to the needy- To illustrate this- the next 10 chapters describe this aspect in the Amrutha Mathanam episode.The Ocean gave (dana)the best two objects to Hari and other valuables during the Churning of the Ocean episode , while having all wealth.

3)स्वोक्त निर्वाह: - One should keep up his promise always- To illustrate this - the next 9 chapters describe this aspect throgh Maha Bali Charithram .Both in affluent situation and in calamity Bali kept up his promise and surrendered every thing to Hari.

4) तद्वक्ता भगवानेव - Sri Hari-Bhagavan Himself is the Source and Follower and Teacher-To illustrate this - the last chapter describes by Matsyavathara (Incarnation of Hari in a Fish Form ). As all the three forms described above are known to Hari,, He instructed this to the Manu in the Matsyavathara.
Thus the four (4 ) Prakaranas or Topics are in this Canto, according to Harililamrutha of Vopadeva also.
We will study this Canto -8 as told in HrasvaBhagavatham now.

                          1

पृष्टश्चाह शुको व्यजायत हरिर्मन्वन्तरे चाƒदिमे

यज्ञो नाम; विभुर्द्वितीय उदितः सद्ब्रह्मचारी स्वयं;।

भूयोƒभूदपि सत्यसेन इति यो जातस्तृतीये; महा-

कारुण्येन रिरक्षिषुर्गजवरं जातश्चतुर्थे हरिः।।

Meaning : After the Prahlada Charithram was narrated by Suka maharishi in Canto-7, Parikshit told him that the story of Swayambhuva Manu had been narrated in extenso. He asked the sage to narrate not only this manvantara but also the other manvantharas as well. Sage Suka then narrated as to what took place in the Swayambhuva Manvanthara itself.In this manvanthara Hari incarnated Himself as " YAGNA (यज्ञ:). in the next (स्वारोचिष) manvanthara He incarnated Himself as VIBHU (विभु:), as a devoted Brahmachari. In the third manvanthara He incarnated Himself as Satyasena (सत्यसेन). In the fourth (4) manvanthara the Bhagavan who is Mercy and Grace Personified incarnated Himself as Hari (हरि:) and in this incarnation He protected an elephant king with utmost mercy on him.

Commentary:In the Swayambhuva manvanthara, Manu did penance after leaving the kingdom and with total detachment.Manu prayed to Hari (this prayer is in verses 9 to 16 of chapter 1) and is full of sayings from upanishads.The detailed incidents in each manvantara is summarised and shown below:

MANVANTARA	Manu	Sons of Manu	Indra	Group of Devas	Group of Saptarishis	Baghavan's Incarnation as & His actions in that Manvanthara
SWAYAMBHUVA	Swayambhuva	Priyavratha &Uttanapada	Yagna	Tushitha	Marichi, Atri,Angira,Pulastya,Pulaha, Krathu,Vashishta	Yagna- killed all asuras who wanted to kill Manu
SWAROCHISHA(SON OF AGNI)	Swarochisha	And othersDyuman,Sushena,Rochishman	Rochana	Tushitha and others	Urjasthambha and others	Vibhu -88000 muni practised Brahmacharya
UTTAMA(SON OF PRIYAVRATHA	Uttama	Pavana,Srunjaya, &Yagnahotra and others	Satyajith	Satya,Vedashrutha,Bhadra	Pramada and others	Satyasena Killed yakshas and rakshasas who were tormenting all living beings assisted by Satajith
TAMASA (BROTHER OF UTTAMA)	Tamasa	Pruthu,Kyathi,Nara,Kethu and others	Trishika	Satyaka,Hari,Vira,Vaidhruthi and others	Jyothi, Dhama and others	Hari (as son of Harimedha and Harini). Saved an elephant from the jaws of death when attacked by a crocodile

2

कश्चिद् दन्तिवरस्त्रिकूटविपिने क्षीराब्धिमध्ये मृगान्

शास्ता स्वैः सहितो गृहीव सरसि क्रीडन् निमग्नो बली।

ग्राहेणाभिहतो रुषा च चरणे दैवाच्चिरं संगरं

कुर्वन् नष्टसमस्तशक्तिरवशस्तुष्टाव भक्त्या हरिम्।।

Meaning: There lived an elephant king in the forests of Trikuta mountain in the midst of the milk ocean, who was so strong that he controlled all the animals living there ( including lions). Once he along with the other elephants both male and female who were friends and his wives went to a lake and was playing in water after drinking water to quench his thirst and being in water was more in a playful mood. It so happened that a crocodile who was living in that water caught hold of his leg with such an anger and force and was pulling the elephant towards it in the water.The elephant and the crocodile fought for a very long time.At the end the elephant lost all his strength to release himself from the crocodile.The elephant felt so miserable and helpless similar to the householder in difficulties and surrendered himself to Hari and offered his prayer to Him.
Commentary:At the end of the first chapter Parikshit asked Suka to narrate the story as to how Hari saved the Gajendra from the crocodile and this episode was famous for conferring all the welfare and virtues to the listeners.Suka was then extremely happy and pleased and after praising the king for his interest in listening to Hari's glory, started to narrate the story in detail.
The famous Trikuta mountain was in the milk ocean and it was 80000 miles high and there were many rivers in that mountain and there was a garden belonging to Varuna by name Rituman-in this garden all fruits and flowers were available throughout the year. There were trees of all varieties and all varieties of birds and animals were living there. There in this mountain lived an elephant king called Gajendra with many female elephants.Even lions knowing the presence of this Gajendra from the long distance by the smell emanating from the air used to run away to save themselves and Gajendra was living there without having any difficulty as he controlled all animals in the forest of the mountain. The young ones of the elephants were running after him.On one occasion during summer Gajendra and the other elephants were very much thirsty and all of them reached a lake to quench their thirst. After drinking water and feeling relieved from the thirst Gajendra was sporting in the water with the other female and the young elephants.He was so proud of his strength and was influenced by Maya of Hari similar to the householders in this world and did know the impending danger for him..Then a crocodile living in the lake which was very strong caught hold of his foot with such an anger. This was due to the Prarabda Karma of the elephant and induced by Hari.Gajendra who was very much proud of his strength thus was caught in a danger unexpectedly. He fought with the crocodile for 1000 years. All the other elephants also tried their best to release Gajendra from the crocodile by pulling in groups from behind. But without any success. As they were fighting each other Gajendra lost his strength as he was in the ground without food, whereas the crocodile's strength increased ,being in water and getting sufficient strngth being there. Gajendra finally lost hope of getting out of the lake and he was in the danger for his life. It is at that time Gajendra realised that none could save him from this danger to his life except the Paramatma who is the refuge for this entire universe and therefore he surrendered himself to Him.

3

""जन्माद्यस्य यतः स मेƒत्र शरणं भूमन् कृपावारिधे!

बद्धं मोचय माँ स्वकर्मभिरितस्तस्मै नमो ब्रह्मणे''।

श्रुत्वेदं हरिरुद्धृतांबुजकरं दन्तीन्द्रमत्रारिणा

ग्राहात् कृत्तमुखादमूमुचदरं पश्यत्सु देवादिषु।

Meaning: " That Bhagavan is only my saviour,by Whom this universe (jagat) was created and this universe is sustained and in Whom this universe will be merged during the final stage of dissolution . O Al Pervading One!, O Ocean of Mercy!Please release from the bondage of my own Karma, My prostrations to that Supreme Brahman." Hearing this call in distress of Gajendra Bhagavan Hari appeared there at once ridindg on Garuda. Then Gajendra with difficulty pulled a lotus from the lake by his trunk and with great difficulty due to pain offered him the lotus and uttered the following words -" O Lord Narayana! Master of this Universe and Guru for all ! I offer my respectful obeisances to You." When the other devas and other celestials assembled there and as they were watching the situation, Hari cut off the head of the crocodile first with his left hand and with his right hand pulled Gajendra from the lake and saved him from death.

Commentary: The prayer offered by Gajendra is in verses 2 to 29 of chapter 3 of the Purana.Gajendra's prayer is " NIRGUNA STOTRA " the knowledge of which was obtained by him through Bhakthi and Jnana towards Hari in his previous birth.His prayer in spirit and essence was to get liberation from samsara.. As other Deities-BRAHMA AND SHIVA -were influenced by their names and forms, they did not prefer to come to the aid of Gajendra THINKING THAT THE PRAYER WAS NOT ADDRESSED TO THEM. BUT HARI BEING BOTH NIRGUNA AND SAGUNA AS HE IS SARVATMA CAME AND PROTECTED GAJENDRA..

This verse is also another Mangala Shloka in the middle of this Kavya. This conforms to the requirement that a kavya shold have a mangala shloka at the beginning, middle and at the end of the kavya. The words "जन्माद्यस्य यतः and नमो ब्रह्मणे'' are in the verse no 1 and repeated here for this purpose.

                        4

इन्द्रद्युम्नो नरपतिरयं ध्यानमग्नोƒपि दैवात्

शप्तोƒगस्त्येन च गजवपुः श्रीहरेः स्पर्शयोगात्।

तत्सारूप्यं गत उरुमुदा पार्षदत्वं च; हूहू-

र्गन्धर्वोƒयं स्वपदमगमद् ग्राहताया विमुक्तः।।

Meaning:Gajendra in his previous birth was the king of Pandya Kingdom by name Indradyumna. He was a devotee of Hari. Once he was engrossed himself in deep meditation in the form of Vishnu. and during this worshipping of Vishnu by him, Agastya Rishi came to see him with his retinue of sages to be his guests. In spite of making him to know about the purpose of his visit, Agastya could not make the king withdraw from the meditation and see him. Agastya's anger threrby was the cause of a curse that as he is indifferent like an elephant and insulted a brahmin, the king would become an elephant. This was due to Hari's intention to give Indradyumna -the mukthi in his next birth.Thus Indradyumna became an elephant in his next birth.Due to the touch by Hari, the elephant got Sarupyam -सारूप्यं with HARI .He became a permanent resident in Vaikunta.The crocodile was a Gandharva by name Huhu in previous birth and he also was delivered from the curse by the sage Devala to become a crocodile, when Huhu pulled the legs of the sage when he was worshipping by standing in a river. Devala told Huhu after he expressed his regret for his act that Hari would release him from the curse when He would save the elephant. Thus Hari saved both the elephant and crocodile.

Commentary:Agastya is called Bhagavan by Suka in chapter 4 -verse 11. His curse was the result of Hari's intention to give Indradyumna the mukthi in his next birth. Hence the curse. What Bhagavan Hari told Gajendra after delivering him from the curse is described in verses 17 to 25 of chapter 4. This is the Phala Shruthi for remembering this episode of GAJENDRA MOKSHAM -THAT a person will become pure in his mind at the time of his death.

                         5

वैकुण्ठस्त्ववतीर्य शुभ्रतनयो मन्वन्तरे पञ्चमे

वैकुण्ठं कृतवान् रमापतिरयं षष्ठे तु वैराजजः।

संभूत्यामजितोƒजनिष्ट; विधिना दुर्वाससः शापतो

निःश्रीकेष्वसुरैर्जितेषु च सुरेष्वस्तूयत श्रीहरिः।।

Meaning: In the fifth manvanthara Hari , husband of Lakshmi incarnated Himself as Vaikunta. He also created Vaikunta loka.In the sixth manvantara He incarnated Himself as Ajitha-the son of Vairaja and Sambhuthi. Indra and all the devas lost all the wealth of the paradise-Svarga due to the curse of Durvasa Maharishi. All of them went to Brahma for the advice in getting back their kingdom in the paradise and Brahma then prayed to Bhagavan Hari to come to their rescue.

Commentary: The details of the 5th & 6th manvantaras are given in the table below:

Manvantara	Manu	Sons of Manu	Indra	Group of Devas	Group of Sata Rishis	Incarnation of Hari and His acts
Raivata(Brother of Tamasa)	Raivata	Bali, Vindhya and others	Vibhu	Bhutharaya and others	Hiranyaroma,Vedashira and others	Vaikunta (son of Shubra and His wife Vikunta). Created Vaikunta Loka in response to the request of His wife Rama
Chakshusha	Chaakshusha	Puru,Purusha, Sudyumna and others	Mantradruma	Aapyaaya and others	Havishmat, Viraka and others	Ajitha (son of Vairaja and his wife Sambhuthi) Incarnated as Kurma (Tortoise) for chrning of the ocean

When Parikshit asked Suka to narrate the reasons for Churning of the Milk Ocean , Suka narrated the story. Due to a curse by the great Durvasa Rishi that Indra would lose all the wealth of the Svarga ,as Indra insulted the Prasada of Lakshmi in the form of a garland which was got by the sage when he went to Vaikunta and worshipped Hari and Lakshmi and was given by the sage to Indra by getting it trampled at the feet of his elephant Iravatha., Indra and the other devas lost all wealth of the paradise and driven out of it by their enemies the Asuras.All of them went to Brahma and asked his advice. Brahma after meditating on AJITHA prayed to Hari. The prayer of Brahma is contained in verses 26 to 50 of chapter 5.The prayer contains many Upanishad sayings and has phlosophical import.

6

प्रत्यक्षो हरिराह - ""सन्धिमसुरैः कृत्वाƒथ निर्मथ्यतां

क्षीराब्धिः; कुरुतात्र मन्दरगिरिं मन्थानमुत्साहिनः।

नेत्रं वासुकिमप्यतन्द्र''मिति ते श्रुत्वा वहन्तो गिरिं

दैत्यैः साकमहो! निपेतुरमरा ईशेन चोत्थापिताः।।

Meaning:Bhagavan Hari appeared before Brahma and others and told-" All of you meet the asuras or demons and consel with them and carry out the churning of the Milk Ocean.For this purpose bring the Mandara mountain as the churning rod and Vasuki the serpent as the rope ,as a churning tool." On hearing this all of thedevas went to their enemies -the demons and after counselling with them , both the devas and the demons brought the MANDARA MOUNTAIN. While doing this all of them fell as they could not bear its weight and in that efforts many of them were crushed. But Bhagavan Hari came to their aid and lifted the mountain with his one hand and kept it in the Milk Ocean and saved both the devas and the demons.

Commentary: When Hari appeared before all of them Brahma prayed once again and appealed to Him to suggest a solution to get the welfare for devas again. Hari suggested to the devas to counsel with their enemies and churn the milk ocean with Mandara mountain as a churning rod and Vasuki-the serpent as a rope to do the churning.Hari informed the devas that the poison-Kalakuta will come out fist from the churning operation and the devas should not be afraid of it. Saying so, Hari dis appeared. When all of them brought the mountain they could not bear its weight and many of them were crushed after its fall on them. By the Grace of Hari's glance all of them came to life again. Hari appeared before them and lifted the mountain with his one hand and went to the Milk Ocean and installed it there. Along with Him all of them also.

7

दैत्याश्र्व त्रिदशा ममन्थुरुदधिं; मग्नं जले मन्दरं

विष्णुः कूर्मवपुः स्वपृष्ठतलतः प्रोद्धृत्य चान्यद् वपुः।

बिभ्रत् तत्र सहस्रबाहु जलधिं मथ्नन् व्यलासीत्; ततो

जातं रूक्षतरं विषं समपिबत् त्र्यक्षश्च सर्वैः स्तुतः।।

Meaning: As both the devas and daityas together churned the Milk Ocean, Mandara mountain due to its enormous weight was submerged in the ocean . When all of them were helpless in lifting it from the ocean, Hari once again incarnated Himself as KURMA (Tortoise) and lifted the mountain from the ocean by supporting it from underneath . keeping the mountain on His back. Further Hari in another form appeared with thousands of hands to help all o them in the churning operation.HARI 's presnce was the guiding force and was with a very shining one. As a reult of ths churning Kalakuta- a venomous poison appeared first and all of them could not bear the heat and effects of it. All of them approached Shiva-and appealed to Him to rescue them from Kalakuta and offered their prayers to Him.Sadashiva then took the poison and drank it and thus all of them were saved from Kalakuta poison.

Commentary :When all of them held Vasuki, on the first occasion devas held the head of the serpent. The demons felt holding the tail as an illomen and wanted to hold the head. Devas on the advice of Hari held the tail. As the demons were holding the head during churning Kalakuta poison appeared from the serpent's head and all of them were tormented. Hari saw to it that the devas were not tormented by the poison by inducing rain on them. When all of them could not bear the severity of Kalakuta, they approached Sadashiva to come to their rescue. All the Prajapathis prayed to Shiva-See verses 21 to35 of chapter 7. SHIVA realising that they need His help drank the entire poison by keeping it in the middle of His palm and with the consultation of Uma. The poison was retained by Him in the neck so that all the jivas in His stomach are saved and to save all other devas and demons from spilling it out. Thus His neck became blue and black due to the effect of the poison and came to be known as NEELAKANTA. Seeing this all of them including Brahma, Uma and Hari praised Shiva for His act of protecting the world and selfless act. As some portion of Kalakuta spilled on the ground , scorpions, snakes and poisonous plants emerged from it.

       8

जातान्यब्धेर्बहून्येव च; गजरमणीकल्पवृक्षादि शक्रो,

धेनुं विप्राश्च, रत्नम् हरिरपि जगृहुर्वारुणीं दैत्यवर्याः।

जाता लक्ष्मीः सदोषान् सुरदनुजमुनीन्द्रादिकांश्चापि हित्वा

विष्णुं वव्रे पतिं; तैरमृतमपहृतं दानवै विष्णुहस्तात्।।
Meaning: Many objects then came out when the devas and daityas churned the Milk Ocean- An elephant called Iravatha, many apsaras,women,Tree called Kalpa Vruksha,-all these were accepted by Indra. When Kamadhenu- a celestial cow came out Rishis took her Kaustuba Ratna was accepted by Hari. When Varuni (liquor) came out ,the asuras (demons) accepted it more gladly.When Lakshmi Devi came out she accepted Hari as her husband because She found out that every one had one defect or the other and therefore rejecting them all except Vishnu.When the nectar (Amrutha) pot came out from the ocean along with the amshavatara of Hari- Dhanvanthari, all asuras (demons ) snatched the pot from His hands and ran away.
Commentary:In the chapter 8 of the Purana the order of things coming out of churning of the ocean and the recipients of each of them is shon in the table below;

Order in which things came out from Milk Ocean during Churning	Recipient
Kamadhenu – Celestial Cow	Rishies for cnducting sacrifices using ghee
Uchchaishrava- a Horse	Bali – the King of demons
Iravata – an Elehant with 4 tuskers	Indra
Kausthubha – A Diamond	Hari -to wear in his neck and decorating the chest
Parijatha – Kalpaka Vruksha	To paradise-Indra
Apsara women	To paradise - Indra
Maha Lakshmi	Married Hari as she did not find any suitor without any defect
Varuni – liquor	Asuras for enjoyment
Amrutha Kalasha with Dhanvanthari Bhagavan - Nectar	Snatched awawy by Asuras from the hands of Dhanvanthiri. As devas surrendered to Hari , hari appeared in the form of Mohini - a woman to ensure that only devas get the nector

                         

Maha Lakshmi accepting Vishnu as her husband is described in verses 8 to 28 of the chapter 8.
After the pot containing the nectar snatched by the demons from the hands of Dhanvanthari, devas were crest fallen .As devas surrendered themselves to Hari, Hari assumed the form of Mohini to detract the demons from the nectar pot and ensure that the devas only get the nector. How this was done is explained in the next verse and the chapter.

9

दृष्ट्वा देवान् विषण्णान् हरिरतुलमरं मोहिनीरूपमास्था-

यान्योन्यं दस्युभावादुरुकलहरतान् दैत्यवर्यान् कटाक्षैः।

गीर्भिश्चाƒमोह्य गृह्णन्नमृतमथ ददौ निर्जरेभ्यो निगृह्य

स्वर्भानुं व्याजरूपं कृतफलमखिलेभ्योƒददात् भक्तिगम्यः।।

Meaning: Noticing that the devas had become crestfallen Hari assumed the form of Mohini - an extremely beautiful damsel immediately.Hari in this form of Mohini approached all the demons who after snatching the pot containing the nectar like thieves and were quarrelling among themselves with regard to the sharing of the nectar.By Her glances and sweet talk, all the demons were so overpowered that they gave the pot to the Mohini. Mohini inturn gave the nectar to the devas. As Svarbhanu -a demon consumed the nectar stealthily , his head was chopped off by the Sudarshana Chakra of Hari ( this was revealed to Hari by the Sun and Moon ).

In this manner Hari rewarded and punished all in accordance with their actions either righteous or unrighteous.

Commentary: The demons act in snatching away the pot containing the nectar was the most unrighteous act as they wanted to deny the devas who also participated in the churning of the Milk Ocean. Hence Hari punished them by denying them the nectar. As the devas did not qurrel with the demons but surrendered themselves to Hari. He gave them their due share of the nectar. When Svarbhanu- a demon stealthily consumed the nectar Sun and Moon made Hari know of the act and Hari punished him by cutting his head. As he had consumed the nectar his head and trunk became immortal by becoming Rahu and Kethu.

The lesson from this episode is when there is deceit in act the intentions never get fulfilled and when the intentions are good and straight forward they get fulfilled by the Divine Intervention

  10

गते च गरुडध्वजे त्रिदशदानवाश्चक्रिरे

रणं सुतुमुलं, ततः सुरगणे च पर्याकुले।

हरिः पुनरुपागतो निहतकालनेमिस्त्वहन्

सुमालिमुखदानवानपि च माल्यवन्तं रणे।।

Meaning: After the nectar was consumed by the devas Hari in Mohini Form disappeared.Then a war broke out between the devas and the demons ( as the demons felt that they were cheated by the devas and Hari).Both the groups fought a fierce war.The devas became tired and were also tormented by the demons who created many illusions.When the devas once again thought of Hari ( as they were helpless to counter the effects of the illusions), Hari appeared once again and killed the demons -Mali, Sumali, Malyavan and Kalanemi.

Commentary: The battle beteen the devas and asuras is described in detail in the chapter 10 of the Purana.

When the devas were helpless and facing the asuras who were resorting to the most unfair means and facing the calamity, they remembered Hari. Suka in verse 55 of this chapter mentions - Remembering Him is the solution for all calamities.Please see BalaPrabodhini for Gajendra Moksham episode.

                       11

शक्रेणाभिहतः पपात च बलिर्वज्रेण, दैत्या हता

जंभाद्या; अथ नारदस्य वचसा शक्रो निवृत्तो रणात्;।

शुक्रस्तूर्णमजीवयत् रणहतान् मन्त्रेण पूर्णाङ्गकान्

दैत्यान् दैत्यगुरु,र्बलिस्तु विजितो ज्ञानी न दुःखं गतः।।

Meaning: Maha Bali the demon king was killed by the Vajrayudha (Bolt) of Indra.The other demons -Jambha and others also were killed. Then Narada came and appealed to Indra to stop the war.The Guru for the asuras - Shukracharya saw to that all the asuras who were killed came back to life and to all those who lost their limbs their limbs were restored. This was done by him through the Sanjivani Vidya (Science to resurrect the dead ).

Knowing about his defeat in the battle Bali did not have any grief over his defeat as he was a Jnani ( Person who has equanamity in sucess and failure).
Commentary: After Hari appeared in the battle field , all devas were encouraged by His presence and fought with the demons. In the battle that took place many demons were killed. Namuchi - the demon also was killed by Indra using the foam which was neither dry nor wet.Brahma seeing the destruction of demons , sent Narada as a messenger to Indra to stop the war. Narada told Indra that since all devas have got the nectar , which would make them immortal due to the Grace of Narayana and as their position in the svarga is restored , they should stop the war.As Narada's appeal was accepted Indra and others stopped the war and went to the svarga. Shukracharya restored all dead demons back to life by Sanjivini Vidya. Bali did not grieve over his defeat as he was calm in his mind both in win as well as in defeat.

12

योषिद्रूपं दिदृक्षुर्हरिपदमगमच्छङ्करः, श्रीहरेस्तद्

दृष्ट्वा चारामदेशे चलकुचयुगलं कन्दुकाघातलोलं।

कामावेगात् परिष्वज्य च पुनरुदितज्ञानतो भक्तिनम्रः

कैलासे सत्सभायां हरिमहिमकथामाबभाषे भवानीम्।।

Meaning: Shiva heard about the Mohini form Vishnu. He desired to see Him in that form. He went to Vaikunta.As Shiva expressed his wish to Hari that although he had seen His other incarnations He did not see His Mohini form and so desired to seethat form, Vishnu transformed Himself as Mohini again.As Mohini was wandering in a garden with her heavy breasts oscillating and as she was playing with a ball,Shiva was infatuated and went after the Mohini Form and emraced Her. Laterto Shiva , the wisdom and Jnana dawned and He returned to Kailasa. In the assembly of sages , He told Uma about the greatness of Hari.

Commentary: This episode gives a very clear reason as to why the asuras were infatuated by seeing Mohini Form. When Shiva who is reputed to have won the desires (kama) totally and is called Kamari (कामारि ) -An enemy of Kama(Manmatha- who is capable of inducing sexual desires in people), could not resist His desires on seeing Mohini Form of Hari, the asuras who are more prone to succumb to such desires were influenced.When Shiva felt ashamed and regretted his folly in succumbing to desires Hari pacified Him stating that nobody can win over His Maya and assured that in future Maya can not influence Shiva

Suka concludes this chapter 12 with a prayer to the Mohini Form of Hari. (see verse 47). Those influenced by Tamasic traits can not get the fortune of serving His feet . But those with pure devotion or Bhakthi towards Hari can serve His feet. So He assumed the form of Mohini and the asuras who had no devotion to Him could not get the nectar ,whereas devas surrendered themselves to Him with Bhakthi and could drink or get the nectar.It is not only the devas-whoever surrenders to Him , all their desires will be fulfilled.So saying Suka pays his respects and prostrates before His feet.

13

ख्यातो वामन इत्यजायत हरिर्मन्वन्तरे सप्तमे

चक्रे याचनमष्टमादिषु तथा मन्वन्तरेष्वच्युतः।

अंशेनावतरन् दधाति विविधं श्रीसार्वभौमादिकं

रूपं नाम च; भक्तरक्षणपरो ह्येवम् सदा श्रीहरिः।।

Meaning:Now Suka describes the seventh manvanthara. Shradhdha deva who is the son of Vivasvaan will be Manu ( Vaivasvatha Manu and manvantharam) . Ikshvaku,Nabhaga,Dhrushta,Sharyati,Narishyantha,Naabhaga, Dhishta, Karusha,Prushadra,Vasuman -these are ten sons of Manu.Adityas,Vasus,Rudras,Vishvedevas,Maruthganas,Ashviniputrau,Ribhava are the devas. Purandara will be Indra.Kashyapa, Atri, Bharadvaja,Vishvamitra,Gautama, Jamadagni and Vashishta are the seven Rishis.In this manvanthara the incarnation of Hari will be Vamana (son of Kashyapa and Adithi ) He will be the youngest among the Adityas. He begged also (from Bali for the earth measuring his feet in 3 steps).

Likewise from the 8th manvantara to to the 14 th manvantara there will be different Manus, Manu's sons, Devas, Indra, and saptha (7) rishis, and Amshavatharas of Hari. HE WILL INCARNATE AS SARVABHAUMA IN THE EIGHTH MANVANTHARA. In this manner Hari is particular in protecting His devotees always.

Commentary: Chapter 13 desribes in detail the present seventh (7) th manvantara andthe coming and ensuing 7 manvantharas thereafter. For details this chapter has to be studied. Details for 7th manvanthara are given above.

14

रक्षन्तो मनवः सुरा मनुसुता लोकत्रयं धर्मतो

वर्षन्तो धनधान्यपोषणपराः शक्रा हरिप्रेरिताः।

वर्तन्ते श्रुतितत्वबोधनपराः सप्तर्षयश्र्च; ब्रुवन्

ज्ञानं कर्म च योगमेष भगवानास्ते सलीलं प्रभुः।।

Meaning: Due to to tmotivations by Hari , Manu, sons of Manu, Devas, Indra, Seven Rishis carry out their prescribed duties. Manu, sons of Manu, and Devas protect the three worlds. Indra induces rains at the appropriate periods for the production of cerals and wealth. Saptha Rishis are engaged themselves in teaching Vedas and Their preservation. Bhagavan incarnates Himself for the teaching of Karma and Jnana yogas to the world , in different forms.

Commentary: In every yuga Hari teaches and advises - Sanakadi Rishis in Jnana (Atma Tatva) , for the Rishis such as Yagnyavalka and others Karma Marga ( Karma Yoga) and Rishis such as Dattatreya and others Yoga Marga (Ashtanga Yoga etc. ) All these are the leelas or sporting activities of Bhagavan Vishnu