Glorification of Gita Chapter XVII
Servant Dushasana
(Chapter 191, Padma Purana, Part-IX)The lord said:
I told you the power of the sixteenth chapter. Now listen clearly, O Shiva, to the greatness of the seventeenth chapter. Duhsasana was a servant of Khadgabahu's son. He came to seize that elephant and was killed by the elephant. With his mind fixed on that desire, he obtained the stock of the elephant, (but) obtained the highest position on listening to the seventeenth chapter of the Gita.
The goddess said:
I have heard that Duhsasana became an elephant and was released. O auspicious lord, tell me that only in detail.
The lord said:
There was a certain wicked-minded man. He laid a high-priced wager with the feudal princes and then mounted upon an elephant. The fool named Duhsasana, having gone a few steps only, (though) warded off by people, uttered audacious words. Then the elephant, hearing them, was blind with fury. With the princes trembling, he, with his steps stumbling, fell down. Then the elephant, unrestrained like death, angrily uprooted something panting and fallen. The mad elephant separating his bones, even though he was already dead, scattered them. (1-9)
Then having died in course of time, he obtained the stock of elephant. He passed a long time (like that). The king of Simhaladvipa had a close friendship with king Khadgabahu. Then the honoured elephant was sent by the water-route by Jayadeva to Khadgabahu. That king also took him with joy. Remembering his previous existence, and seeing his kinsmen and his brothers, he passed a few days with great grief. Not showing (any recognition) he quietly lived in Khadgabahu's house. He, some time being pleased by the completing of an incomplete stanza (in a contest) (by a poet) gave the poet the elephant as a present. The poet, being afraid of a harm from a disease, sold the temple-elephant to the Malava king for a hundred (coins). After some time had passed, the elephant suffering from fever due to old age difficult to be enjoyed, was on the point of dying. The elephant did not smell cold water, nor did he take a morsel; he did not sleep comfortably, but shed tears only. (10-17)
Then hearing the account told by the elephant-driver, the king came where the elephant suffering from fever, lay. The elephant too, seeing the king, gave up the agony due to the fever, and spoke in a voice causing wonder to the world. "O king, O you who know all sacred texts, O you ocean of the science of politics, O you who have vanquished the host of your enemies, O you to whom Vishnu's feet are dear, what is the use of medicines, shoots, and mutterings of hymns? Bring a brahmana who would mutter the seventeenth chapter of the Gita. There is no doubt that my disease will end due to that." The king did as was told by the elephant. Then Duhsasana gave up his state as an elephant, and got release. When the brahmana had thrown consecrated water on the excellent one, the king saw that Duhsasana, lustrous like Indra, got into a divine aeroplane.
The king said:
Tell me what your caste is, who you are, what your livelihood is. Due to what act did you become an elephant? How did you come here?
Asked by the king, Duhsasana who was freed, remaining in the aeroplane, told in definite words his account. Then the lord of Malava, muttering the seventeenth chapter of the Gita, was released after a short time. (18-27)
---xxx---
SUMMARY
The nectarean glories of the seventeenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita was narrated by Lord Shiva to Parvati as follows.
King Khadga-bahu’s son had a crafty but foolish servant named Dushasana. Once this servant made a bet with the prince that the servant could ride the passionate male elephant. Thereupon the servant jumped on top of it and went a few steps, but people urged him not to ride that dangerous elephant. Dushasana, however, started to prod the elephant to make it move faster. Suddenly the elephant became angry and ran wildly here and there. Dushasana fell to the ground, was trampled by the elephant and died.
Thereafter Dushasana attained the body of an elephant in Simhala-dvipa, where he lived near the palace of the king of Simhala-dvipa, a close friend of King Khadga-bahu. One day the king of Simhala-dvipa decided to send this elephant to his friend as a present. Upon receiving the elephant, King Khadga-bahu presented it to a poet who had pleased him with beautiful verse. This poet in turn sold the elephant to the king of Malava for one hundred gold coins.
After some time, the elephant contracted a terminal disease. When the elephant-keepers saw that the elephant had stopped eating and drinking, they reported the matter to the king, who then went to the elephant shed with the best animal doctors. At that time, much to the surprise of the king and everyone else, the elephant started to speak.
The elephant said, “My dear king, you are a pious and strict follower of the Vedas, and you always worship the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu. So you should know that at this time these doctors will be of no avail. No kind of charity or sacrifice will help me at this time of death. If you care for me and want to help me, then kindly bring someone who daily recites the seventeenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita.
Thus requested by the elephant, the king brought a great devotee who regularly recited the seventeenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita. As this devotee chanted, he sprinkled water on the elephant, who then gave up its elephant body and attained a four-armed form, similar to that of Lord Vishnu. The former elephant, who had previously been Dushasana, sat down in a airplane that had been sent for him from Vaikuntha. The king then inquired from him about his previous birth. Dushasana told him everything and then left for Vaikuntha.
After these events, that best of men the king of Malava also regularly recited the seventeenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita and after a short time he attained, the lotus feet of Lord Krishna.
_____________________________________________
Online Sources:
1a) Padma Purana, Uttarkhandam : West Bengal Public Library Network
1b) Padma Purana, Uttarkhandam : Digital Library of India
1c) Padma Purana, Uttarkhandam : Derived from 1a,b
Hard Copy Source: (scanned "PDF"s from Online Source#1a,b)
"The Padma-Purana (English)" by Veda Vyasa, 1954 & 1956. Translated by Sri N.A. Deshpande, Indian Translation Series of the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works, jointly sponsored by UNESCO & Government of India. Part VIII & IX, First Edition. 2906-2970p. Published by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt.Ltd., Bungalow Road, Jawahar Nagar, Delhi-1110007. Printed by Jainendra Prakash Jain at Jainendra Press, A-45 Naraina Industrial Area, Phase 1, New Delhi-110028.
Online References:
- http://www.bhagavad-gita.us
- http://www.gita-society.com/scriptures/GitaMahatmya.IGS.pdf
- http://www.iskconbangalore.org/gitamahatmya-introduction
- https://archive.org/details/puran_padam
संस्कृत श्लोक - Sanskrit Padmapuran-17
বাংলা অনুবাদ - Bengali Padmapuran-17
_____________________________________________
বাংলা অনুবাদ - Bengali Padmapuran-17
_____________________________________________
Typed, OCR-ed, edited and uploaded by rk
No comments:
Post a Comment