Deva-Asura Yuddha
Chapter 47 of the Matsya Mahā Purāṇa records twelve wars between the devas and the asuras in the present cycle of creation. In the same chapter it tells of the tapas (austerity) of Śukrācārya, how Bhagavān Vishṇu killed the wife of Bhṛgu, how Bṛhaspati took the form of Śukra, and how Bhagavān Śiva gave his grace. It also lists the ten avatāras of Bhagavān Vishṇu and holds the Śiva Triśatī.
The twelve wars
The Matsya Purāṇa names twelve deva-asura saṃgrāmas (wars of devas and asuras) in the present cycle of creation. They are great events that drew in the chief beings of all three worlds. Each war has its own cause: a provocation, a loss of balance, a theft or a wrong done.
The killing of Bhṛgu’s wife
One of the chief events of this chapter is the killing of Bhṛgu’s wife by Bhagavān Vishṇu.
In one of the wars an asura who was about to be killed by Bhagavān Vishṇu ran to the wife of Bhṛgu and took refuge with her. By the power of her tapas and her duty as a wife, she gave him refuge, placing her protection between the asura and Bhagavān Vishṇu. Bhagavān Vishṇu then used his Sudarśana Cakra to cut off the head of Bhṛgu’s wife.
When the great ṛshi Bhṛgu came back and found his wife killed, he spoke a terrible śāpa (curse) on Bhagavān Vishṇu:
“Because you have killed a woman, the wife of a brāhmaṇa, you will be made to take birth in the world of mortals seven times, and suffer the sorrows of birth, growth and death as all mortals do.”
Bhagavān Vishṇu accepted the curse and bowed to it. The Matsya Purāṇa takes this curse as the cause of the descents of Bhagavān Vishṇu into mortal form.
Śukrācārya’s tapas
During the wars the asuras were open to attack in one way. Śukrācārya’s Saṃjīvanī vidyā (the knowledge that brings the dead back to life) could revive them after battle, but the devas were learning to strike when Śukra was away. To end this danger for good and win a power that would make the asuras unbeatable against the devas, Śukrācārya did a very hard tapas. He stood on one foot (ūrdhva-pāda) with arms raised and face turned up, living only on the smoke of fire (dhūmāhāra), for one thousand years. The Purāṇas record it as one of the hardest tapas.
Indra saw the danger of Śukrācārya winning the vara (boon) of Bhagavān Śiva. He sent his daughter Jayantī to disturb Śukra, or at least to attend on him during the tapas. Jayantī served Śukra with full devotion for the whole thousand years. She looked after his needs, kept away disturbances and did nothing to break his tapas. At the end of the thousand years Bhagavān Śiva appeared and gave Śukrācārya the vara he sought.
Jayantī and the plan of Bṛhaspati
When his tapas was done, Śukrācārya was grateful to Jayantī for her service. He lived with her in her home for ten years, away from the world. In those ten years Bṛhaspati, the guru of the devas, took his chance. He took the exact form and name of Śukrācārya and went to the asuras as their guru come back. The asuras were fooled by the perfect copy. They took Bṛhaspati for Śukra and followed his advice, which served the devas.
When the real Śukrācārya came back after ten years, he found the asuras already following another who claimed to be him. The asuras were bewildered, for two beings each said, “I am Śukrācārya.” The confusion and quarrelling that followed weakened the asuras and let the devas gain ground in the wars. In time Śukrācārya made himself known through his knowledge and the deception was shown up, but the harm to the asuras in those ten years was great.
The ten avatāras of Vishṇu
Chapter 47 also gives the list of the ten avatāras (daśāvatāras) of Bhagavān Vishṇu. The Matsya Purāṇa lists them as Matsya, Kūrma, Varāha, Narasiṃha, Vāmana, Paraśurāma, Rāma, Kṛshṇa, Buddha (Balarāma in some lists) and Kalki. Each avatāra is Bhagavān Vishṇu’s answer to a crisis of dharma at a certain time in the cosmos.
The Śiva Triśatī
From Śukrācārya’s tapas and his meeting with the grace of Bhagavān Śiva came the Śiva Triśatī, the stotra (hymn of praise) of three hundred names of Bhagavān Śiva, made in thanks and devotion. Chapter 47 of the Matsya Purāṇa keeps it as a teaching for devotees who seek the grace and protection of Bhagavān Śiva.
Sources
- Matsya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 47