||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 69 – Chithrakethu Upakhyanam -1

Pareekshith spoke “ Oh! Bhraman, how did Vriththrasura who was born as a demon, possessed the qualities of Rajasik/Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moham, etc. and gain supreme knowledge of Bhramam? How did he achieve intense devotion and faith upon supreme Lord Narayana? It is difficult to achieve even for the deities and Rishis who perform numerous austerities and extreme penances to fix their intellect at the lotus feet of Lord Mukunda.  Therefore, kindly narrate to me.”

Shuka Bhramam replied “ Oh! Rajan, listen to me carefully, Vriththrasura was an Emperor Chithrakethu of the Kingdom Shoorasena, in his previous birth.  Even though he was married several times, unfortunately, he had no offspring.  It created extreme distress in the life of the Emperor Chithrakethu, all his wives were rich from the illustrious clan and beautiful, but everyone was equally depressed for not having a child.  One day, Maharishi Angirass visited the palace of Emperor Chithrakethu, was received with great respect.  The Emperor washed his feet, offered Arghyam and a raised seat.  Maharishi Angirass was highly pleased with the dedication and devotion of Emperor Chithrakethu, he asked the well-being of his Kingdom and his subjects. He asked “ Oh! Rajan, I could sense your distress; I can read your face is troubled with anxiousness.  Something is bothering you. What is the reason for it?”  Maharishi was well understood the reason for his distress of not having an offspring for performing rites for ancestors, not having an heir to rule the Kingdom, not having a child to shower his affection and love.   Maharishi Angirass pacified Chithrakethu and advised that even if he attains a son, he would not add any fame to his clan, therefore accept all the happenings as the blessings of the supreme Lord.   Chithrakethu begged before Maharishi “Oh! Maharishi, I am extremely worn out of the grief of the absence of an offspring, like an individual suffering from hunger and thirst.   Oh! Mahabhaga, I shall surrender at your feet, you are a supreme ascetic, kindly bless us to obtain a virtuous offspring and kindly protect us from our sufferings.”  Maharishi Angirass advised the Emperor to organize a fire sacrifice to obtain an offspring.  Thus a huge fire sacrifice was held, at the successful completion of the fire sacrifice, the deity appeared with the vessel of kheer/Payasam, which was reverentially received by Chithrakethu.    The Kheer was given to his Empress, in due course of time she was pregnant with a male child.   Emperor Chithrakethu and his subjects were extremely happy at the arrival of the beautiful male child, he was named Shoorasena.  On an auspicious day, the child was attired in majestic clothes, rites were performed and predictions were made about the future of the child. 

As the day’s passes, Chithrakethu was getting too attached to his child, he could not separate himself from the newborn and the mother, and eventually, he lost interest in the kingly duties.  It annoyed the other wives of the King; they felt ignored by him and treated as bad as servants of the palace, the King miserably failed in his duty as a husband and a ruler.  They collectively have taken a decision to kill the new-born who has stolen all the attention of the King from them, further they poisoned the child and killed.  The Empress looked at the cradle of the child who was already dead; she mistook the child in deep sleep.  The hours passed, the attendant of the Empress checked on the child and found the child was already dead.  The attendant handed the dead child to Empress, she could not bear the separation, she wept bitterly fallen on the ground.  She vehemently beaten her chest and cried out loudly, her hairs were disheveled, clothes were misplaced, ornaments were shattered all over the ground.  The Emperor who heard the tragic incident, rushed out of the assembly to the child and seated near the legs of the child, bashed his head on the ground, cried out bitterly.  They both could not control their grief, Empress could not withstand the sorrow of her husband, and they were completely heartbroken.  Her eyes were overflowing with tears wetted her bosom, she could not take her mind off from the image of the child, she cried loudly saying “ Oh! Vidhatha, do not be so cruel to us.  How could you seize my child before I shower all my love to him? How could you be so unkind to us, I have heard that the aged would die, why did you take my new-born child? You could have taken me instead if you want.  Oh! Bhagavan, you have thrown me into the bottomless ocean of worldly existence.” She kept whispering to her child and talking and crying to her dead child as if it is alive.  The other wives of the Emperor were assembled and shed tears as if they are grief-stricken at the death of new-born.  The husband and wife were shaking the child miserably and tried to wake him up; she cried to her child that her bosoms are full of milk waiting to feed him.  Thus, the husband and wife were soaked in utter grief and pain of separation from the child. 

Maharishi Narada and Sage Angirass arrived at the palace and witnessed the heart-wrenching sight; they have decided to raise the mind of Emperor and his wife from the grief of the loss of new-born.  Maharishi asked “ Oh! Rajan, Who is this child? You are saying it is your child, for whom are you grieving for? Oh! Rajan, you did not bring the child into the womb of its mother, you did not protect it while it was in the mother’s womb, you did not bring the child out of its mother’s womb, and therefore you cannot claim that it is your child.  The time plays an important role in everyone’s life like the river carries the sand and deposit the sands on the shore.  The life cycle on the Earth continues like the seed produces grains and the process repeats with the strength of Prakrithi, Time, and the supreme Lord.  The body/Dheha/creation originates from the mind/Dhehi, and process repeats, in this way human life cycle continues, in other words for every creation begins with the desire as its basis, later it produces with the help of reproductive organ.  Therefore, every creation begins with the push of desire; the body takes the action to fulfill the desire, as a result, the birth takes place.  The mind is initiated from the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings, hence all those desires of the mind are contributed by the Supreme Lord, so the mind has the strength to go back to its origin/supreme Lord as well, with this knowledge you can get rid of sufferings of worldly existence and bondage.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 68 – The legend of Vriththasura - 4

Vriththrasura continued “ Oh! Indra, my mind relentlessly eulogizes the glories and virtues of Lord Hari, I have surrendered to the supreme Lord who resides as soul and protects my body. I am performing all the tasks with the knowledge that I am the servant of supreme Lord.  I have devoted my mind and intellect to the supreme Lord, and my body for the service of the Supreme Lord and his devotees.  I do not want to be an emperor  of Druvaloka, or Bhrama Loka or Rasathala or Prithviloka, or I do not want Yogasiddhis or Moksha, I am sincerely praying for not to forget the supreme Lord not even for a second, I cannot bear the separation from the supreme Lord.   The intense devotion to the Supreme Lord must be like the birdies in their nests, impatiently waiting for the return of its parents who went in search for the prey,  it must be like a hungry calf waiting for its mother and stay close to her bosom,  and her return home after grazing in the forest, it must be like a young bride who impatiently waiting for the arrival of her husband,  eagerly staring at the pathways in search for his return home and unite with him.  I have always yearned for the association of saintly and pious people; we have taken several births to attain the life of a human, in this way  we are rotating within the wheel of Samsara, therefore we should not keep association with the people who are soaked in the worldly matters.”  

Lord Indra was in dilemma, after listening to nectar-like speeches of Vriththrasura. Indra left the hold of the weapon Vajrayudha was asked to fight by Vriththrasura who was holding a spear and ready to fight against him.  Lord Indra stopped Vriththrasura and cut off his hand that was holding the spear. Vriththrasura gave a powerful smack on the Airavatha with his other hand, eventually, Indra lost hold of Vajrayudha.  Indra felt ashamed to pick up the weapon Vajrayudha before Vriththrasura was asked to take back the weapon.  Vriththrasura inspired Indra who was in utter shame, he took the Vajrayudha and cut Vriththrasura's other hand.  Vriththrasura spoke “Oh! Indra, Do not think that you are killing me with your power, every action are pre-destined by the supreme Lord, it was destined that my body has to face its death in your hands. The ignorant people are besieged by illusion forced to think all that achieved by their individual efforts and skills, the human body is a corpse without the presence of soul/vital air and mind.   The soul and the intellect can leave the body any moment through any one of the nine gates.  As long as the presence of the soul exists, the intellect and body start its function.  Oh! Indra, body, sense organs, and intellect are functioning with the grace of supreme Lord, this knowledge itself would create humility in individuals, if you do not understand the truth, you cannot perform any of the functions.  Oh! Indra, if you learn to face the fame and ill fame, respect and disrespect, success and failure, happiness and sorrow,  gain and loss, with a balanced state of mind, it would not do any harm.  Oh! Indra, Therefore,  do your duty.”  Lord Indra regained his enthusiasm, came forward with folded hands and prayed before Vriththrasura “Oh! Vriththrasura, though you have born in the clan of demons, you have attained closeness to supreme Lord, you have attained union with the Supreme Lord.  It is surprising to witness that your body has the appearance of demons, but your intellect is vested in the intense faith upon Lord Vasudeva who resides as a soul in living beings.  Whoever contemplates upon the supreme Lord with intense faith and devotion would soak their mind in the ocean of nectar-like supreme bliss.” Indra killed Vriththrasura, thus he attained Bhramahathyasin, later he sought advice from illustrious Rishis and got rid of the same.

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 67 – The legend of Vriththrasura - 3

The demons started to flee from the battlefield were caught in hand by Vriththrasura were received the knowledge of spirituality.  Vriththrasura said “ Oh! Men, listen to me carefully, it is a quite natural phenomenon that all the living being has to undergo death, thus the life cycle continues with the presence of Athman/soul, there is no permanent way out of it.   The body deteriorates called Sthoola Shareera, but the soul/mind known as Sookshma Shareera that has no death, once the body leaves, the soul takes another birth.  The pious, intellectuals and a renounced soul with a thorough knowledge of self attain union with the Bhramam.  Oh! Children, learn to die as a brave man, not like a fearful one, be fearless and look forward to your life with courage and enthusiasm.  Whatever going to happen should face fearlessly, therefore, face your death with courage.  There are two ways you can welcome your death, one attains Bhrama Nirvana that is the union of mind with the soul/Athma,  and another one is facing death with courage while performing one’s own duties and responsibilities.”  Even after listening to the marvelous advice of Vriththrasura, the demons could not stop themselves on the battlefield.  It enthused Lord Indra and deities to fight against the remaining army of demons.   

Vriththrasura said “ Oh! Deities, you are fighting for a selfish cause of Lord Indra, you should be ashamed of yourselves.  Lord Indra who disrespected his own preceptor Sage Bhrihaspathi, he accepted my brother Vishwaroopa as his preceptor was killed for his selfish reason.  Now, he put the illustrious Maharishi Dhadhichi in death for killing me.” Lord Indra got infuriated; he aimed Vajrayudha against Vriththasura who spanked  the forehead of the elephant Airavatha, with his sharp spear.  In a moment the elephant Airavatha lost its balance, Indra fell down from the top of it.  The deities were mystified to watch the power of Vriththrasura.  Lord Indra felt weak for a moment, Vriththrasura began to speak “ Oh! Indra, I feel ashamed of myself to stand before you, because you have humiliated your preceptor, you have killed my brother, even though you are Lord Indra, you have no honesty or integrity, therefore I feel embarrassed to fight against you. You have committed a grave sin, by indulging in the luxuries of your supreme abode.  Oh! Indra, while you were chasing wealth, luxuries, fame and glories and indulging in it, forgot that it will leave you one day, they are impermanent nature.  You have chosen the impermanent one, leaving the permanent and supreme wisdom.  Therefore, I have no desire to fight with you.  I have gained a permanent wealth of supreme knowledge of self, therefore I have no interest to fight with you.  Oh! Indra, I have already surrendered my intellect to the supreme Lord which is impossible to seize, hence you can take my body.  Oh! Devesh, why you did not utilize the weapon Vajrayudha? Undoubtedly, You can take my body, I do not need this.  This Vajrayudha will do its duty with the power and austerities of Maharishi Dhadhichi, not because of your skill.  I am willing to offer my body like that magnanimous Rishi Dhadhichi who offered his backbone to you.  I have attained a balanced mind from my preceptor Sankarshana.   Whoever contemplates upon supreme Lord with firm devotion and faith, would attain Lord himself to his devotees.  A renounced person handles every situation be it happiness or sorrow as the Prasada/gift of supreme Lord.  Whoever constantly contemplates upon him with intense faith and devotion with the knowledge that Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha can be attained at ease, and shower all their compassion and faith upon supreme Lord, they would attain supreme Lord who provides the intense belief that HE is relentlessly following his worshiper to remove their extreme fears and anxieties.  Oh! Indra,  I am the servant of devotees of the devotees who are surrendered to the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord Hari.  My heart is already surrendered to that supreme Lord Hari who resides as soul and protects my body, and it is performing all the duties with the thought that I am the servant of Lord Hari.”

||Srimad Bhagavath Mahapuran||

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 66 –The legend of Vriththasura -2

The supreme Lord spoke “ Oh! Deities, I am highly pleased with your devotion, If I get pleased what would be impossible for you? You have already surrendered your heart upon me, therefore there is nothing impossible for you.  The intellectuals have a thorough knowledge of the origin of mind, they contemplate upon me, they have a thorough knowledge of the mind originated from me should return back to me.  They also knew that I am the protector and preserver of their mind a soul; therefore they do not desire anything other than me. An ignorant who is not aware of ‘fortune/auspiciousness’/Shreyas, should not be heaved to further ignorance,  it is the duty of an intellectual to elevate the soul with the knowledge of self from the darkness of ignorance.  Vriththrasura cannot be killed that easily, he should be killed with a weapon made with the backbone of a supreme intellectual who have performed numerous austerities and penances, hence appeal to Maharishi Dhadhichi who is supreme ascetic taught the hymns of sacred armor of Lord Narayana/Narayana Kavacham  to Vishwaroopa.”  The deities reverentially prostrated before Lord Vishnu and disappeared. 

The deities proceeded to the hermitage of Maharishi Dhadhichi and requested for his backbone.  Maharishi Dhadhichi laughed out and spoke “ Oh! Indra, the body of human depends on the strength of the backbone, who will be willing to offer that?” Lord Indra spoke “ Oh! Mahatma, it is impossible to see a pious and ascetic like you, this world is full of selfish people, your backbone would save the life of deities,  therefore kindly do not leave us.”  Maharishi Dhadhichi said “ Oh! Lord Indra, you are speaking about the righteousness, I am sacrificing my body right now, kindly make use of my backbone.  This body is bound to death; it is impermanent nature, if I am not using it for the welfare of others, what would be the use of it? The rivers flowing for making the land inhabitable, the trees bearing flowers and fruits for the consumption of all living beings, therefore it is fortunate to utilize my body for the welfare of the deities, otherwise, it would become useless.”  Maharishi Dhadhichi contemplated upon supreme Lord and attained union with the Bhramam.  Vishwakarma carved out a diamond-like beautiful and powerful weapon from the backbone of Maharishi Dhadhichi, this weapon of Vajrayudha was given to Lord Indra.  A vicious battle held between Lord Indra who mounted on the Airavatha accompanied by the army of deities,  against Vraththrasura.  This brutal battle held in the Thretha Yuga between Lord Indra and Vriththrasura with numerous demons.  The army of demons horrified at the sight of Vajrayudha of Lord Indra, but Vriththrasura was least worried about it, the demons were started to flee from the battlefield after witnessing the powerful Vajrayudha and the strength of the army of deities, was caught hold by Vriththrasura and inspired them to fight against the deities.  In the fierce battle, the demons became weak before Lord Indra and his fierce weapon Vajrayudha.

||Srimad Bhagavath Mahapuran||

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 65 –The legend of Vriththrasura -1

Vishwaroopa has great intellect, courage and might, he relentlessly engaged in the performance of fire sacrifices for the prosperity and the well-being of deities and Lord Indra.  Once, Vishwaroopa performed the fire sacrifices offering ablations for the welfare of preceptor of demons, Lord Indra came to know about this; he was furious, chopped off the head of Vishwaroopa.  Therefore Lord Indra was afflicted with the sin of Bhramahathya, and the sin was equally distributed among Earth, Trees, Water,  and Women.  Due to the sin of Bhramahathya ¼ of the Earth has turned into desert, Water which was afflicted with the Bhramahathya turned its color filled with foam and bubbles, the trees have become impure and harmful for the atmosphere, and the women got menstruation for reproduction.  Thus Lord Indra got rid of the Bhramahathya sin. 

Vishwaroopa’s father Thvashta came to know about the death of his son,  decided to perform a fire sacrifice for obtaining a son to kill Lord Indra.  A huge fire sacrifice was organized and abundance of the oblations was offered in the fire, unfortunately, while reciting the hymns due to the slip of the tongue recitation of the hymns went wrong.  The result was a huge dreadful form with blazing eyes and disheveled hair appeared from the sacrificial fire.  The child born from the fire was named as Vriththra, he was constantly trained and taught to fight against deities and kill Indra.  Once, the dreadful Vriththra approached the deities at the command of Thvashta.  The deities were alarmed and prayed to the supreme Lord and eulogize “ Oh! Bhagavan,  we shall surrender at your lotus feet, you symbolize the five essential elements such as Vayu, Agni, Water, Earth and Ether, deities, Lord Bhrama, Lord Maheshwara, you are the creator and preserver of the Universe and its living beings, kindly protect us.  Oh! Bhagavan, you are flawless, it is difficult to realize the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings, you are all-pervading, an ignorant person never realizes your presence in him/her or will not surrender to you.  The person who lives a life without surrendering to the supreme Lord is like crossing a river holding the tail of a dog.  The individual who surrenders at your lotus feet would elevate his soul and attain supreme bliss.  Oh! Bhagavan kindly protects us, like when the Universe was under inundation, Sathyavratha who was born in the clan of Manu was protected from the deluge.   Oh! Bhagavan, you have no duality, you are the creator and preserver of the universe and its living beings, you are absolute truth reside as soul, we are not able to perceive your real form due to Maya/illusion,  Oh! Bhagavan, you have taken numerous incarnations to grace the Earth and its living beings, we shall surrender at your lotus feet again and again.  Whoever realizes the supreme knowledge of self, the presence of supreme Lord as the creator and preserver, he resides as soul in living beings,  he is Purusha who is  beyond Prakrithi which undergoes constant transformation, he is the essence of Universe and its living beings, hence there is no way to realize the absolute truth other than total surrender to the supreme Lord.”  Lord Vishnu who holds Shakha, Chakra, Gadha and Padma appeared before the deities.  All the deities prostrated before supreme Lord and praised “ Oh! Yajjaveera, Oh! Puruhuthe, Oh! Narayana, we shall reverentially prostrate before you. Oh! Mahapurusha, Oh! Mahanubhava, Oh! Paramakalyana, Oh! Paramakarunika, Oh! Parama Mangala, Oh! Lokaikanatha, Oh! Sarvadhara, Oh! Sarveshwara, Oh! Lakshminatha, you are not easily attainable, you are not easily obtainable, you are not easily realizable,  Oh! compassionate Lord, though you have no specific form, you have taken numerous manifestations for performing various passionate sports.  Oh! Paramaguru, We shall surrender at your lotus feet.  We shall prostrate before the supreme Lord Krishna who symbolizes preceptor of the Universe, he resides as a soul in living beings, witnesses all the happenings, knower of all, beyond comparison, elevates the soul from the worldly existence, we shall surrender at your lotus feet.  He is Lord Hari who takes away all the miseries and sorrows of the worshiper/taking away the concentration from the dark side of life while contemplating upon him.”

||Srimad Bhagavath Mahapuran||

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 64 – The Introduction of Narayana Kavacham -2

Shuka Bhramam continues “Oh!, Rajan, listen to me carefully,   I shall narrate the sacred Narayana Kavacham which was narrated by Sage Vishwaroopa to Lord Indra.  Sage Vishwaroopa after performing ablations, conducted the recitation of the hymns of  Anganyas and Karanyasa/reciting the hymns with gestures and touching the body parts which could purify the limbs and bring positive energy into the body.  He contemplated upon supreme Lord Vishnu, who is beyond perception and all-pervading, he has infinite forms and names, he recited the Beeja Manthra.  Sage Vishwaroopa envisioned the glorious form of Lord Vishnu who is mounted on the celestial bird Garuda; he holds mace, sword, conch, disc, protective shield, in eight hands.  Oh! Mathsyamoorthi/the first incarnation of Lord Vishnu, kindly protect us from the troubles of water,  Oh! Vamanamoorthe/the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, kindly protect us from the troubles on the land,  Oh! Narasimhamoorthe/the fourth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, kindly protect us from the trouble from the woods and the troubles like dense forest, Oh! Yajjavarahamoorthe, /the third incarnation of Lord Vishnu, kindly protect us from the troubles whenever I conduct journeys on the sky, Oh! Parashurama,/the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, kindly protect us from the troubles in the hills and heights, Oh! Rama,/the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu,  kindly protect us from the troubles when we feel left alone. Oh! Bhagavan Nara Narayana kindly protects us whenever we commit immoral deeds due to swollen pride, Oh! Bhagavan Dhaththathreya kindly protects us whenever we commit mistakes while performing Yogic practices. Oh! Bhagavan Kapilavasudeva kindly protects us whenever we wrap up ourselves in the performances of duties without the knowledge of supreme Lord, Oh! Bhagavan Sanathkumara kindly protects us whenever our mind becomes uncontrollable with intense desire. Oh! Hayagreeva, kindly protect us whenever we commit grave mistakes on saintly and pious people or the preceptor. Oh! Maharishi Narada, kindly protect us whenever we disrespect the noble soul and move out of the righteous path.  Oh! Koormamoorthe, kindly protect us from all the afflictions. Oh! Bhagavan Dhanvanthiri kindly protects us from all troubles caused by the consumption of meals or the poisons from the meal, Oh! Rishabha Deva kindly protects us whenever we get besieged with intense sorrow or happiness.  Oh! Yajjamoorthe, kindly protect us from the rumors and ill fame.  Oh! Sankarshanamoorthe, kindly protect us whenever we undergo intense rage. Oh! Maharishi Dhvaipayana, kindly protect us whenever we forget the supreme knowledge of self. Oh! Buddha kindly protects us whenever we get trapped among the disbelievers or dishonest, Oh! Bhagavan Kalki, kindly protect us not to waste the era and make me immerses in the veneration and listening to the glories of supreme Lord.  Oh! Keshava, kindly bless us during the dawn, Oh! Govinda who holds the flute kindly bless us when we are in the association of other people.   Oh! Narayana kindly bless us during the morning hours, Oh! Vishnu kindly blesses us during the afternoons. Oh! Madhusoodhana kindly protect us during the evenings, Oh! Madhava, kindly protect us during the dusk, Oh! Hrishikesh, kindly protect us in the nights, Oh! Padmanabha, kindly protect us during the darkest hours in the night.  Oh! Srivathsamoorthe, kindly protect us during the night, Oh! Janardhana, kindly protect us during the dawn, Oh! Damodara kindly protect us during the morning, Oh! Kalamoorthe, kindly be with us always.  Oh! Bhagavan, kindly protect us always from the trepidation with your fierce weapon disc which creates fear among the enemies, and it should tear off and burn down all the impurities and negative thoughts of our mind.  Oh! Bhagavan, kindly breakdown break down all our weaknesses and hurdles with your vicious weapon mace and smash all those evil thoughts into dust. Oh! Bhagavan, kindly protect us with your powerful conch, protects us from the evil spirits, Oh! Bhagavan, kindly protect us with your powerful sword and kindly slice down all those weakness of our mind, Oh! Bhagavan kindly protects us with your shield and safeguard us from the evil spell of others.  Whoever recites or listens to this glorious hymn would be protected from the evil effects caused by changes in planetary positions, the worshiper would attain an abundance of piousness, get rid of all the impediments and impurities.  Whoever recites or listens to these glorious chants would be blessed with the eternal presence of Lord Vishnu mounted on celestial vehicle Garuda, and protects them always.  It would protect the worshiper from all the dangers while conducting journeys, it gives immense courage to intellect and senses.  Therefore contemplate upon the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings, assumed various incarnations, he is supreme Lord Hari who is all-pervading,  Whoever worship Lord Hari with this glorious hymn would be protected from all the troubles and weakness.  The Mahathma Kaushika attained the abode of Lord by the constant recitation of this glorious hymn, while the celestial Gandharva  Chithraratha was traveling through the sky, the divine energy from the Mahathma Kaushik pulled down the chariot of Chithraratha and the Gandharva performed the final rite of Mahathma Kaushika.  Whoever recites this glorious hymn in the morning hours would remain admired by all, and the worshiper would be free from fears and anxieties.  Lord Indra regained all the lost glories of the three worlds with this sacred hymn."

||Srimad Bhagavath Mahapuran||

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 63 – The introduction of Narayana Kavacham -1

King Thvashta who was belong to the clan of deities, married to Rachana from the clan of demons.  Vishwaroopa was born to this couple became the preceptor of deities, when  Lord Indra was humiliated Sage Bhrihaspathi.

King Pareekshith asked “ Oh! Bhraman, Why did Devaguru Bhrihaspathi was humiliated by Lord Indra?”

Shuka Bhramam replied “ Lord Indra was swollen with the pride of wealth and fame.  He took immense pleasure in the association of celestial Gandharvas and Apsara, at that moment Devaguru Bhrihaspathi entered in the assembly of Lord Indra was not greeted or not received by him.  Sage Bhrihaspathi felt humiliated; therefore he retired from the assembly immediately.  Indra regretted the mistake not to receive his preceptor who is worshiped by deities and demons as well.   Indra remembered all that wealth and glories he had earned with the grace of his preceptor, he felt deeply distressed for not receiving him with honor, for not following righteousness and behaved like a person who traveled in a ferry made of stone which could push him at the bottom of the river.  In this way, he put himself and the deities into trouble with his arrogance.   Therefore he decided to please his preceptor; he was ready to bow down his head before his preceptor.   Lord Indra came back into sense and went after his preceptor, but he could not find him.  The demons came to know that Indra is lacking the support of his preceptor.  The demons took shelter from their preceptor Shukracharya, who advised the demons to battle against Indra who is all alone without their preceptor.  The deities and Indra appealed to Lord Bhrama, was received in the assembly of Lord Bhrama and enquired the reason for their visit.  Lord Bhrama said “ Oh! Indra, you have committed a grave sin, how could you disrespect a highly intellectual twice-born Mahathma? The demons have attained more power compared to you. I shall introduce a preceptor Vishwaroopa who is the son of Thvashta, a great ascetic an intellectual.   He could help you in this matter.” Thus the deities attained a new preceptor Vishwaroopa in place of Sage Bhrihaspathi. 

The deities approached Vishwaroopa and reverentially prostrated before him and prayed “ Oh! Mathman, kindly fulfill our desire, preceptor has the strength of his intellect, fathers are the strength of his children, the Earth that supports the whole living beings, etc.  We are troubled by the enemies, we have no support; therefore kindly do not leave us.  We honor you as our preceptor; kindly accept us as your disciples.”

Vishwaroopa said “Oh! Deities, The twice-born loses his divine energy/Bhrama Thejas when he performs veneration of Lord for others, a twice-born is a knower of Bhramam, attained knowledge in Veda and Vedantha, therefore it is his responsibility to impart the knowledge of Bhramam, veneration of Lord is considered as Kriya Yoga, a knower of Bhramam need not perform the Kriya Yoga, a twice-born has already rose to the highest level of Bhramam.  It is an individual responsibility to elevate his/her soul.  Oh! Deities, Even though you have come here for fulfilling your selfish motive, I am willing to help you.”  Thus Vishwaroopa was announced as the preceptor of deities, with his divine powers the deities won over the demons in the battle.  Vishwaroopa describes the glorious Narayanaka Kavacham to Lord Indra, which was retold by Shuka Bhramam to Pareekshith.