Bharata Vaijayantī

The Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa tells of the great campaign of Bharata, the son of Daśaratha, against Śailūsha, the king of the gandharvas. It is the longest narrative in the Purāṇa and runs through Chapters 201 to 269 of the Poorvārdha. Śailūsha ruled the northwestern lands beyond Gandhāra. The account is told by the ṛshi Mārkaṇḍeya to king Vajra. Most of it is shaped around the counsel that the gandharva Nāḍāyana gave to Śailūsha. Along the way the Purāṇa gives many other teachings: about Agastya, the birth and conquests of Rāvaṇa, the six seasons, the killing of Lavaṇāsura, elephants, and the founding of Pushkarāvatī and Takshaśilā. It ends with the happy meeting of Bharata and Bhagavān Rāma at Ayodhyā.

Frame and setting

The account has two frames. In the outer frame, Mārkaṇḍeya speaks to king Vajra. He tells it in answer to Vajra’s question about the glory of the line of Bhagavān Rāma. In the inner frame, which fills most of Chapters 209 to 269, the gandharva counsellor Nāḍāyana speaks to his own king, Śailūsha.

Bharata was the son of Daśaratha and the dear younger brother of Rāma. He ruled Ayodhyā in Rāma’s name during the years of exile. After Rāma came back he stayed on as Yuvarāja (heir to the throne). The gandharvas under Śailūsha had long held the lands beyond Gandhāra, as far as the western ocean. When Rāma began his reign, Śailūsha’s sons turned hostile. They raided the northwestern border lands of the kingdom and threatened them. Rāma chose Bharata to settle the conflict and bring back order.

This part is in Chapters 201 and 202.

Bharata leaves Ayodhyā

Bharata left Ayodhyā with a great army of four divisions (caturaṅgabala): elephants, chariots, horsemen and foot soldiers. The departure was a grand occasion. The Purāṇa describes the formations of the army in full, with royal banners, trumpeting elephants, divine chariots carrying armed warriors, and the sound of conches and war-drums filling the sky. Bhagavān Rāma came to see Bharata off. He blessed him and gave him a special arrow, the Rāmāstra, to use against the greatest enemy.

Bharata’s maternal uncle Yudhājit, king of the Kekaya kingdom, whose capital was Rājagṛha, went with him. The march went through the northern and northwestern kingdoms. Allied kings joined Bharata’s force with their own armies. At each stage the army made camp, the kings offered their help, and the host grew.

This part is in Chapters 202 to 208. Chapters 202 to 205 describe the departure.

Camp at Rājagṛha

Bharata reached Rājagṛha, the fine capital of his uncle Yudhājit. The city welcomed the army with great joy, and Yudhājit honoured Bharata with every royal courtesy. This camp became the base from which Bharata would march against Śailūsha’s gandharvas. Their land lay further northwest, beyond the great river Sindhu.

This is Chapter 209.

Śailūsha’s war council

News of Bharata’s huge army reached the gandharva capital. Śailūsha called his sons and commanders to a council of war. The sons spoke with a gandharva’s pride. Their people were masters of music and the celestial arts, but they were also strong fighters. They could fight through māyā (illusion) and take any form, and they could fight by day and by the hidden powers of night. They said they were ready to defeat Bharata.

This is Chapter 210.

Nāḍāyana’s counsel for peace

One of Śailūsha’s advisers, the wise gandharva Nāḍāyana, urged peace. His argument was not only about politics but about the highest truth. Nāḍāyana said:

“Bharata is not only a prince of Ayodhyā. Know this truth: Bhagavān Rāma is the avatāra of Vāsudeva (Vishṇu) himself, come down to restore dharma. His brothers are forms of the four vyūhas of Vāsudeva.”

  • Rāma is Vāsudeva.
  • Bharata is a part (aṃśa) of Saṃkarshaṇa.
  • Lakshmaṇa is a part of Pradyumna.
  • Śatrughna is a part of Aniruddha.

“To fight any one of the four brothers is to fight Vāsudeva himself in his fourfold form. Agastya has given Rāma the Brahmāstra. These are not ordinary mortals. Give way and make peace.”

Śailūsha listened, but he chose war in the end. He was too proud to yield.

This is Chapter 212.

Teachings within Nāḍāyana’s counsel

Within Nāḍāyana’s counsel, as history and as background to the order of the cosmos, the Purāṇa sets a series of narratives and descriptions. They are in Chapters 213 to 239.

  • Agastya Māhimā (Chapter 213). Agastya drinks the ocean so that the devas can fight the asuras who are hiding in it. He puts down the Vindhya mountain. Lopāmudrā is created. Agastya gives divine weapons to Rāma on the battlefield.
  • Sāgara Varṇana (Chapter 214). A description of the ocean: its measures, the beings that live in it, the islands within it, and what lies beneath it.
  • Deva Procession (Chapter 215). The grand procession of all the devas who follow Vishṇu before the battle with the rākshasas. Brahmā rides a haṃsa (swan), Śiva rides a bull, the rivers appear as women, and Vāyu, Garuḍa and all creation are in formation.
  • Māli Vadha (Chapters 216 to 218). Vishṇu destroys Māli and drives off the rākshasa armies. Laṅkā is given to Kubera.
  • Kubera’s account (Chapter 219). How Kubera received Laṅkā and his kingdom.
  • Rāvaṇa’s birth and tapas (Chapter 220). Kaikasī visits Viśravas at a wrong hour. Rāvaṇa is born with the nature of a rākshasa. He does tapas at Gokarṇa. Brahmā gives him a vara (boon) that no one can harm him.
  • Rāvaṇa’s conquest of the earth, and Vedavatī (Chapter 221). Rāvaṇa conquers the kings of the earth. The full account of Vedavatī’s tapas, Rāvaṇa’s wrong act, her entering the fire, and her rebirth as Sītā. A description of Rāmarājya.
  • Rāvaṇa’s conquest of svarga (Chapter 222). Indrajit takes Indra captive. Brahmā makes a settlement. Rāvaṇa is named at Kailāsa.
  • Rāvaṇa in pātāla, Vāli and Hanumān (Chapter 223). The origin of Vāli, son of Indra, and Sugrīva, son of Sūrya. Rāvaṇa meets Vāli. The birth of the infant Hanumān.
  • Tripura Dahana (Chapter 225). The devas praise Gaṇeśa. Vishṇu becomes the arrow. Śiva burns the three cities.
  • Andhakāsura Vadha (Chapter 226). Śiva fights Andhaka. The Mātṛkās are created. Narasiṃha’s śaktis appear. Andhaka is given gaṇādhipatyam.
  • Mātṛbādha Cikitsā (Chapter 227). Remedies of herbs and ritual for the harm of the mātṛs.
  • Kṛttikā Pūjā Vidhi (Chapter 228). The birth of Skanda through Śiva, Agni, Gaṅgā and the Kṛttikās. Skanda grants the Kṛttikā festival.
  • Akshaya Tṛtīyā (Chapter 229). Skanda grants Gaṅgā the festival of Vaiśākha Śukla Tṛtīyā.
  • Graha Anugraha (Chapters 230 to 232). The grahas arise from Indra’s attack on Skanda. Skanda’s counter-grahas. The signs of their seizure and the cures.
  • Mahishāsura Vadha (Chapter 233). Skanda, as Devasenāpati, kills Mahishāsura.
  • Śiva destroys a yajña (Chapter 234). Śiva destroys a yajña (fire ritual) of the devas. Vishṇu takes the form of a deer.
  • Daksha Adhvara Dhvaṃsana (Chapter 235). Vīrabhadra destroys Daksha’s yajña. The sacred places near Gaṅgādvāra.
  • Śveta Maharshi (Chapter 236). Śiva comes out of the liṅga to destroy Yama. Śveta is given the rank of gaṇeśa.
  • Vishṇu Kavaca (Chapter 237). A stotra of Vishṇu by Maheśvara that guards each part of the body.
  • Bali Rāvaṇa Samāgama (Chapter 238). Rāvaṇa visits Bali. He cannot lift Hiraṇyakaśipu’s earring. Bali shows the supremacy of Vishṇu.
  • Rāvaṇa’s Mahāpurusha Darśana (Chapter 239). Rāvaṇa sees the viśvarūpa (cosmic form) of Vishṇu. Vishṇu foretells Rāvaṇa’s fate.

The six seasons: Shaḍ Ṛtu Varṇana

Before Śatrughna left for Madhupurī, Rāma described the six seasons in long, poetic detail. Each season has its own qualities, landscapes, animals, flowers and human feelings. This is the Shaḍ Ṛtu Varṇana, in Chapters 240 to 246.

Śatrughna’s mission: Lavaṇāsura Vadha

In the midst of the larger account, the ṛshi Cyavana brings a plea to Rāma about the asura Lavaṇāsura, the son of the asura Madhu. Lavaṇāsura was terrorising the countryside around Madhupurī. Rāma gave the task to Śatrughna, his youngest brother. He gave Śatrughna a special arrow, the Rāmāstra, made for killing Lavaṇāsura.

Śatrughna marched to Madhupurī, the forest city of Madhu. Lavaṇāsura had an unbeatable śūla (trident) given by Śiva. While he held it, no one could defeat him. But he left it in his house when he went out to hunt. Śatrughna waited at the doorway at dawn. When Lavaṇāsura came out without his trident, Śatrughna killed him with Rāma’s arrow. The devas came down and blessed the victory with a shower of flowers. At this place, Madhu-vana (Madhu’s forest), Śatrughna founded the city of Mathurā as a lasting memorial.

After he founded Mathurā, Śatrughna went to the āśrama of the ṛshi Vālmīki on the river Tamasā. There he heard Rāma’s twin sons Kuśa and Lava singing the Rāmāyaṇa that Vālmīki had composed. The songs moved Śatrughna deeply. He went back to Ayodhyā and reported to Rāma.

This is in Chapters 242 to 247.

Genealogies of the vānaras and the elephants

The Purāṇa gives much information on lineages and on the nature of animals. It is in Chapters 248 to 253.

  • Pulaha Vaṃśa (Chapter 248). The lines of the vānaras come from the daughters of Pulaha, who were given to him by Kaśyapa. All vānaras carry on their bodies the Śrīvatsa mark of Vishṇu, as a sign of divine origin.
  • Pratisamūha, the cosmic appointments (Chapter 249). Brahmā names the lord of each kind of being. Soma is lord of plants, Daksha of the Prajāpatis, Manu of humans, Indra of the devas, Yama of the pitṛs, Kubera of the yakshas and rākshasas, Śiva of the piśācas and bhūtas, Citraratha of the gandharvas, Garuḍa of the birds, Airāvata of the elephants, Vāsuki of the nāgas, Uccaiḥśravas of the horses, and gold of all jewels.
  • Indra’s coronation on Meru (Chapter 250). Vishṇu holds the white parasol over Indra. Sūrya and Candra fan him. Varuṇa holds the golden vessel. All the worlds are happy for seven days.
  • Gaja Lakshaṇa, the lore of elephants (Chapter 251). Elephants come from the cosmic egg of Sūrya. There are four jātis: Bhadra, Manda, Mṛga and Saṃkīrṇa. The account also tells of the eight elephants of the directions and their lines.
  • Origin of the vānaras (Chapter 252). Vāli was born of Indra, and Sugrīva was born of Sūrya. The main vānara chiefs and their divine parents are listed. Vāli was killed by Rāma, and Sugrīva was crowned king of Kishkindhā.
  • The battle of the elephants and the monkeys (Chapter 253). A great war between elephants and monkeys over the trees of the forest. Indra cuts the wings of the elephants with his vajra, and from then on elephants could no longer fly.

Gandharva raids and poetic descriptions

Śailūsha sent gandharva scouts and raiders to spy on Ayodhyā and Rājagṛha. The divine protection of Rāma and Bharata made their missions fail. The Purāṇa uses this part for long poetic (kāvya) descriptions.

  • Virahiṇī Varṇana. The lament of the soldiers’ wives left behind in the city.
  • Virahī Varṇana. The longing of the soldiers far from home.
  • Niśopabhoga Varṇana. Poetic descriptions of the night in Rājagṛha.

At last both armies set out for the battlefield. This is in Chapters 258 and 259.

  • Śailūsha’s gandharva army took the Sarvatobhadra vyūha (battle formation).
  • Bharata’s army took the Vajra vyūha.

This part, from the raids to the formations, is in Chapters 254 to 259.

The seven-day battle

Day 1: Saṃkula Yuddha (Chapter 260)

The general battle (saṃkula) began at dawn. All four divisions of the armies fought: foot soldiers against foot soldiers, horsemen against horsemen, chariots against chariots, elephants against elephants. The dust of the battlefield rose and covered the sky, and then the blood of the fallen laid it. The devas and other celestial beings gathered in the sky to watch. The heroes called out their lineages and past glories as they fought. The battle went on until sunset. Then Sūrya, as if he had drunk the warriors’ blood through his rays, sank behind the western mountain.

Day 2: Dvandva Yuddha (Chapter 261)

The second day brought single combats (dvandva) between named champions on both sides. The main fights were these.

  • Pushkara (Bharata’s son) against Viśāla. Pushkara killed Viśāla after a hard fight with the gadā (mace).
  • Taksha (Bharata’s son) against Vīrabāhu.
  • Senāni Vijaya against Namuci. Vijaya killed Namuci with his discus.
  • Bhūmanya against Kāmapāla. This was a duel of elephants. Bhūmanya drove Kāmapāla’s elephant away.
  • Kirātarāja Damana against Candrapīḍa. Candrapīḍa’s arrow, a śakti, pierced Damana’s chest. Madhumanta brought Damana back to life.
  • Matsyarāja Suratha against Nikumbha. Both fought to exhaustion, and both were revived.
  • Kāśmīraka Subāhu against the gandharva Subāhu. The Kāśmīraka killed the gandharva with his sword.
  • Ekalavya against Gōvāla. Nothing was settled, and both fell from their horses.

Śailūsha against Bharata. On the same day the two commanders met. Each broke the other’s bows again and again. Śailūsha cut Bharata’s crown. As the sun set, Bharata told Śailūsha: “You have fought well. Rest tonight. Tomorrow we will finish this.” Śailūsha, alone in his tent, decided to die fighting rather than give in.

Day 3 (Chapter 262)

Bharata asked the allied kings to stand aside and watch. He would fight the gandharva army alone, to spare the kings the māyā tricks of the gandharvas. The kings agreed with reluctance. Bharata, alone in one chariot driven by Yudhājit, charged the whole gandharva army. With sheets of arrows blazing like the fire of pralaya, he cut down hundreds and thousands of gandharva warriors until sunset. The devas watching from the sky praised him, and Indra sent flowers.

Day 4 (Chapter 263)

Śailūsha ordered all his gandharva commanders to swarm Bharata at once. That day many named commanders attacked Bharata with set numbers of arrows. They were Gōvāsana, Susubāhu, Subalavya, Vikrama, Suyodhana and others. Śailūsha also fought himself. In the afternoon Śailūsha used his power of māyā and vanished from the field, and the battlefield fell into confusion. Taksha and Pushkara, here called Śatrughna’s sons, were separated and ended the day at sunset.

Day 5 (Chapter 264)

Another fierce day of arrow-fighting between Bharata and Śailūsha. At the height of the battle, Indra himself watched from above and rained flowers on Bharata’s chariot. Both sides stopped at sunset by agreement.

Day 6 (Chapter 265)

Bharata killed two of Śailūsha’s commanders, Sūryaraśmi and Ekalavya. Śailūsha struck back. He struck down five of Bharata’s great allies: Vijaya with his śakti, Pushkara with his cakra, Tamu with his tomara, and Suyodhana with his gadā. Then Śailūsha shot an arrow that hit Bharata in the heart, and Bharata fainted. A great cry rose from both sides. Bharata woke, shot back and broke Śailūsha’s bow, and then struck him hard. The day ended at sunset.

Day 7: Śailūsha Vadha (Chapter 266)

On the seventh and last day, Bharata proposed a single combat: “Let both armies stand down. You and I alone will decide this war.” Śailūsha agreed. Both armies stopped and watched.

They first fought with ordinary arrows and then with astra-śastras (divine weapons). When night fell, Śailūsha let loose a war of māyā. Darkness covered the field, and fearful forms of scorpions, crabs, wolves, tigers, lions and bears rained down from the sky. Bharata answered with the Saurāstra to scatter the darkness, and with the Vāyavya and Vajra astras to destroy the phantom creatures.

Then Śailūsha threw the strongest weapons he had: huge iron clubs, boulders as many as a mountain of stone, the ārāca, the ardhanārāca and all the other standard weapons of battle. Bharata met each with a divine counter-astra. Śailūsha saw that every weapon of his had been stopped, and he used the Brahmāstra. Bharata met it with the Brahmāstra.

At last, with his armour stripped away and his last resources spent, Bharata called up the Nārāyaṇāstra, and then the supreme Rudrāstra. The Rudrāstra blazed like the fire of the dissolution of the world. It pierced Śailūsha’s golden armour and broke through his chest. Then it plunged into the earth, bathed in the waters of pātāla (pātālodaka), and came back to Bharata’s quiver. Śailūsha fell dead in his chariot, his bow dropping from his hands and his life gone.

Śailūsha’s son rushed forward in grief and rage. Bharata met him with the Kālāstra, which killed thirty crore gandharva warriors in one burst. The rest of the gandharva army broke.

Indra’s vara. Indra came down from the sky with all the devas and praised Bharata: “You have destroyed the enemies of dharma and of the brāhmaṇas. Ask for a vara.” Bharata asked: “Let two great cities be built for my sons on the two shores of the ocean. Let Pushkara’s city be Pushkarāvatī, and let Taksha’s city be Takshaśilā.” Indra granted it. The chief gandharva Citraratha embraced Bharata and went back with the gandharva people to Mount Gandhamādana, under the care of Śailūsha’s grandson.

The battlefield: Raṇabhūmi Varṇana

As Bharata’s chariot turned toward home at sunset, his uncle Yudhājit, who was the charioteer, described the scene of the battlefield in lively poetry. The field glittered with the jewels and weapons of the fallen, swords, bows, spears and chariots, as if it were dressed for a festival. Rivers of blood ran from men, horses and elephants. The heads of the fallen warriors lay scattered, with their earrings still shining. Vultures and rākshasas feasted. Piśācas and yakshas drank blood from skulls. The battlefield was terrible and splendid at once, a field of warriors who had died with courage.

Bharata’s army welcomed him with joy. He embraced the allied warriors who had lived through the battle, honoured them, and led them to Rājagṛha for the night.

This is Chapter 267.

The lament of the gandharva women

The next morning the wives, daughters and sons of the fallen gandharva warriors came to the battlefield from their city. Their lament was long and heart-breaking. The women called out to Śailūsha himself, puzzled by his stillness: “Rise! We are here. Why do you not embrace us? You who defeated devas and kings now lie embracing the earth. Who turned your mind to this war? Nāḍāyana warned you, but you did not listen.”

They mourned their husbands who had fallen in long verses of kāvya. They spoke of the warrior’s old life, with beds of silk, perfume, royal fans and loving wives, and of his present state, lying on the bloody earth and fanned by the wings of vultures.

Citraratha came at Bharata’s request and comforted the bereaved. He performed the funeral rites for Śailūsha and for all the fallen warriors. Sandalwood, agaru and ghee were offered to the funeral fires. Then the gandharva people left for Gandhamādana mountain under Śailūsha’s grandson, and they lived there under Bharata’s protection. Citraratha settled them in a new place on Rāma’s mountain (rāmaparvata).

This is Chapter 268.

The founding of Pushkarāvatī and Takshaśilā

After the victory Bharata stayed in Rājagṛha for four months. He kept the vow of Cāturmāsya. He worshipped Bhagavān Vishṇu, who awakened on Āshāḍha śukla paksha and is celebrated again on Kārtika Pūrṇimā. He gave bhū-dāna (gifts of land), honoured the allied kings with gifts from the treasury of the gandharvas, and let his army rest.

At the good moment after Kārtika Pūrṇimā, with the blessings of the jyotishīs (astrologers) and the śilpīs (architects), Bharata had two splendid cities built.

  • Pushkarāvatī stood on one side of the ocean, for his son Pushkara. It was named for the lotus (pushkara) on which Vishṇu rests.
  • Takshaśilā stood on the other side, for his son Taksha. It later became famous as a seat of ancient learning.

Both cities were filled with merchants, brāhmaṇas, craftsmen and artisans. The two sons were crowned kings. Bharata placed both kingdoms under the care of Yudhājit. He embraced his sons and his uncle with tears and began the journey home to Ayodhyā.

This is Chapter 269.

Bharata’s return and meeting with Rāma

Lakshmaṇa came to the city gates to receive Bharata, leading the four-part army in a formal welcome. In the great assembly hall, Bharata bowed to the ground before Bhagavān Rāma, who sat on the throne. Rāma raised him, embraced him, kissed his head, seated him, and asked about the whole campaign. Bharata laid the treasures taken from the gandharvas at Rāma’s feet and told him everything.

Bhagavān Rāma was full of joy. He took Bharata back as a man takes back his own ātmā. Bharata went to his home and worshipped Vishṇu. From then on he meditated on Rāma’s feet, not only when awake but in his dreams.

Four years later Rāma heard from Bharata’s sons themselves about the glory of Pushkarāvatī and Takshaśilā, and he was filled with the highest joy.

This is Chapter 269.

Sources

  • Vishṇu Dharmottara Purāṇa, Poorvārdha, Chapters 201 to 269
  • Chapters 201 to 202: frame and setting
  • Chapters 202 to 208: the departure and the march
  • Chapter 209: camp at Rājagṛha
  • Chapter 210: Śailūsha’s war council
  • Chapter 212: Nāḍāyana’s counsel
  • Chapters 213 to 239: teachings within Nāḍāyana’s counsel
  • Chapters 240 to 246: the Shaḍ Ṛtu Varṇana
  • Chapters 242 to 247: Śatrughna’s mission and the killing of Lavaṇāsura
  • Chapters 248 to 253: genealogies of the vānaras and the elephants
  • Chapters 254 to 259: gandharva raids, poetic descriptions and the battle formations
  • Chapters 260 to 266: the seven-day battle
  • Chapter 267: Raṇabhūmi Varṇana
  • Chapter 268: the lament of the gandharva women
  • Chapter 269: the founding of the two cities and Bharata’s return