THE VALMIKI RAMAYANA

BALA KANDA

then

dEva:

the gods

mhadEv|

Lord Siva

SÄðr|

one who bestows good (Lord Siva)

SrNa¢TIn:

praying for protection

nÏva

having saluted

pS¤p¢t|

the Lord of all beings (Lord Siva)

âd#|

deserving of praise

æOa¢h

`protect'

æOa¢h

`protect'

i¢t

thus

t¤¾¤v¤:

pleaded

Desiring   protection,   the   gods   then   prostrated   before   Lord
Sankara,   the   great   God   and   praised   that   Lord   of   all   beings,
Rudra,   crying   out   `Protect,   protect'   (21).

evm¤³Ex¤   dEvEx¤   dEvdEvEár:   p#B¤:      .
p#aÑ¤ras£äOtaE{æOWv   Sc@DraE   h¢r:    ¡ 22¡

ev|

in this manner

u³Ex¤

while praying

dEvEx¤

the gods

dEvdEvEár:

the god of Gods, i.e. Lord Vishnu

p#B¤:

the eternal

p#aÑ¤ras£t¯

appeared

tt:

then

AæO

there

itself

Sc@Dr:

with the conch and the discus in His hand

h¢r:

Lord Vishnu

That   Lord,   the   god   of   gods,   Lord   Hari,   when   the   gods   were
supplicating   in   this   manner,   appeared   before   them,   then   and
there,   bearing   in   his   hands   the   conch   and   the   discus   (22).

uvacWn|   ¢Þmt|   k]Ïva   âd#|   S¥lDr|   h¢r: .
dWvtWÞÏv|   p#aÐyImanaE   yÏp¥vI|   sm¤pagtm¯     ¡ 23¡

uvac

said

en|

like this

¢Þmt|

smile

k]Ïva

sporting

âd#|

Lord Siva

S¥lDr|

armed with trident

h¢r:

Lord Vishnu

dWvtW:

by the gods

Ïv|

you

p#aÐyIman:

being requested

yt¯

whatever

p¥vI|

first

sm¤pagtm¯

emerged (the poison Halahala)

Lord   Hari,   with   a   smile   sporting   on   his   lips,   spoke   thus
to   the   spear-wielding   Rudra:   `You   are   being   requested     by
the   gods,   in   respect   of   that   which   has   issued   forth   in   the
first   place   (23).
tÏvd£y|   s¤r½E¿   s¤raNamg#jaE   ¢h   yt¯   .
Ag#p¥ja¢m¢t   Þm¦Ïva   g¦haNEd|   ¢vx|   p#BaE ¡ 24¡

tt¯

that

Ïvd£y|

yours

s¤r½E¿

O! Best among gods!

s¤raNa|

to the gods

Ag#j:

first born

¢h

indeed

yt¯

therefore

Ag#p¥ja|

the first honours

i¢t

thus

Þm¦Ïva

treating

g¦haN

may you please accept

id|

this

¢vx|

poison

p#BaE

capable of accomplishing anything

`
O!   Best   among   gods,   capable   of   accomplishing   any   task!
You   are   the   first   manifested   among   gods!   What   has   now
issued   forth   first   also   belongs   to   you.May   you   consider
this   venom   (Halahala)   as   the   first   worshipful   offering
and   accept'   (24).
iÏy¤?va   c   s¤r½E¿ÞtæOWvaÓtrD£yt      .
dEvtana|   By|   ¾va   dEvdEvaE   mhEár: ¡ 25¡
i|b:¢t     |?b: as above

u?va

having said

and

s¤r½E¿:

Lord Vishnu

tæO

there

itself

AÓtrD£yt

vanished

dEvtana|

of the gods

By|

difficulty

¾va

seeing

dEvdEv:

the god of gods

mhEár:

Lord Siva

halahl| ¢vx| svI| s|jharam¦taEpmm¯ .
k]ÏvaÚp¢pÎf| pa¢NÞT| t¢¹x| Bgvan¯ hr: ¡26¡

halahl|

the poison Halahala

¢vx|

poison

svI|

all

s|jhar

sucked and confined it

Am¦taEpmm¯

like nectar

k]Ïva

making it

AÚp¢pÎf|

of a small quantity

pa¢NÞT|

capable of holding in the palm of one's hand

tt¯

that

¢vx|

poison

Bgvan¯

lord

hr:

one who takes away the troubles of the devotees (Lord Siva)

That   best   among   gods     (Lord   Vishnu)   having   said   as   above
regarding   that   poison,   disappeared   from   that   place.   That
Lord   of   Lords   (Siva),   whose   wont   is   destruction   of   the
miseries   of   His   devotees,   noticing   the   danger   threatening
the   gods,   consumed   the   entire   quantity   of   the   poison   Halahala,
making   it   a   small   globule,   containing   it   within   the   cup   of   His
palm,   and   rendering   it   like   elixir   (25-26).

svIlaEk¢htaTaIy   Bgvan¯   prmEár:       .
kÎZÞTmkraEt¯   p#aÜy   l£lya{mrp¥¢jt: ¡ 27¡

svIlaEk¢htaTaIy

for the welfare of all the worlds

Bgvan¯

Lord

prmEár:

Siva

kÎZÞT|

located at the throat

AkraEt¯

made

p#aÜy

consuming

l£lya

playfully

Amrp¥¢jt:

one who is worshipped by the gods (Lord Siva)

That   Lord   Siva,   who   was   eulogised   by   the   celestial   groups,
having   taken   playfully   (that   virulent   venom),   for   bestowing
welfare   on   all   the   worlds,   made   it   stay   in   His   neck-region   (27).

ttaE   dEvas¤ra:   svI   p#NØy   v¦xBÒvjm¯   .
mÓdr|   p¥vIvt¯   k]Ïva   mmn¯T¤r¢mtaWjs:      ¡28¡

tt:

thereafter

dEvas¤ra:

the gods and the demons

svI

all

p#NØy

prostrating

v¦xBÒvjm¯

the one who has bull in his banner (Lord Siva)

mÓdr|

the Mandara mountain

p¥vIvt¯

as before

k]Ïva

having established

mmn¯T¤:

churned

A¢mtaWjs:

those of illimitable strength

Thereupon,   all   the   gods   and   demons   prostrating   before   the
bull-bannered   (Lord   Siva),   churned   (the   milky   ocean),   as
before,   using   Mandara   mountain;   they   were   of   illimitable
prowess   (28).
p#¢vvESaT   patal|   mn¯TanaE   mÓdraEäOm:     .
tt:   pvItm¥l|   t¤   patalE   t¤   p#vE¢Stm¯   ¡29¡

p#¢vvES

entered

then

patal|

the nether world

mn¯Tan:

the churning rod

mÓdraEäOm:

the superior mountain

tt:

from there

pvItm¥l|

the base of the mountain

t¤

verily

patalE

in the nether world

t¤

indeed

p#vE¢Stm¯

stuck

Then   the   churning   rod-   the   great   Mandara   mountain-went   down
upto   the   nether   world.   The   base   of   the   mountain   also   settled
on   the   face   of   the   nether   world   (29).

s¤ras¤raà   ¢nàE¾a   bB¥v¤:   ²ES¢vºla: .
ttaE   dEvaÞsgÓDvaIÞt¤¾¤v¤mID¤s¥dnm¯        ¡ 30¡

s¤ra:

the gods

As¤ra:

the demons

and

¢nàE¾a:

actionless

bB¥v¤:

actionless

²ES¢vºla:

confounded due to sorrow

tt:

then

dEva:

the gods

sgÓDvaI:

with Gandharvas

t¤¾¤v¤:

praised

mD¤s¥dnm¯

destroyer of the demon Madhu (Lord Vishnu)

The   gods   and   the   demons,   upset   by   this   became   actionless   and
then,   the   gods   in   the   company   of   the   Gandharvas,   sang   the   praise
of   (Lord   Vishnu)   the   destroyer   of   the   demon   Madhu     (30).
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