Chapter 48 - Nilkanth gives darshan to Yogis on Navlakha Hill

Shri Hari Visits Navalakha Siddhas and meets sage Kapila, then proceeds to Jagannatha Puri. 

Suvrat said:- 

Having reached and climbed the mountain, the Lord saw that wonderful places of nine hundred thousand (lakh) Siddhas-entirely. 1. 

In those nine lakh places (Navalakshasthali), there were flames of fires without fuels, and some springs of hot and cold waters. 2. 

With wonder, he saw their Siddhas living, and all the liberated men, who are impossible to be seen even by the Yogis. 3. 

Seeing them he saluted and they also saluted him, the preacher of Yogis. He stayed there for three days granting them happiness. 4.

Meditating Vasudeva in heart, they recognised him as being the same, wonderful and very bright in the imperishable abode. 5. 

O King then they decided that he is the lord Krishna himself, accepting the form of a human. All of them got the fruit of their penance (seeing him) and worshiped him. 6. 

Shri Hari being devotedly saluted by them climbed down the mountain, by elephant-way and came to ‘Vadava-Kunda’. 7.

Nilakantha stayed there for three days observing with wonder, the earth sparkling with huge eruptions of elements like fire, air and water. 8. 

Then he went to the south east direction to the union of river Ganga and the ocean. Taking bath there, he stayed for three days. 9. 

Then sailing in a boat he crossed the creek and came to Kapilashrama which was beautiful as surrounded by the ocean. 10. 

O King, in that hermitage there lived sage Kapila, the principal preceptor of Sankhya philosophy, observing penance for the welfare of three worlds. 11. 

Seeing him there, who was practising devotion consisting of one’s religious duties, knowledge, detachment, the son of Bhakti, Shri Hari, was very well pleased. 12.

Seeing that Shri Hari, the Lord with concealed powers (supremacy), serving him like the god; Kapila, while meditating realized Him to be Krishna; thus became overwhelmed. 13.

Everyday sage Kapila, showing great hospitality, served Krishna with love deservedly, the one who has accepted human form on his will, and one who is aiming on establishing the religion, (Dharma). 14. 

The celibate-king stayed there in that place, very endearing to the ascetics, for one month and then went to Jagannatha Puri. 15. 

Shri Hari stays in Jagannatha Puri and finds brigades of rivals in disguise.  

The celibate-king staying there in the city of Purusottama i.e. Jagannatha Puri, used to take bath in the sea and used to have Darshana of Jagannatha every day. 16.

Taking bath in the holy lakes like Indradyumna and others, he performed the rituals applicable to those holy places, knowing them accordingly. 17.

O King, staying there he saw many demons in the form of hypocritical worshippers wandering in groups in that city. 18. 

They were mutually envious due to their ego, hatred, power and jealousy, and there were arrogant men, who had turned away from religion, and indulging in physical thirsts, and evil. 19. 

Bearing traditional marks of Shiva, Vaishanava and Shakta outwardly, they even had taken names like ‘Guru’ Sadhu’ etc. with their extreme hypocrisy. 20.

Showing strange things with their magical power of Mantras which they had achieved, to the men and women living in that city, they captured them and then forced them to renounce their original religion. 21. 

They behaved like preceptors outwardly showing themselves as having no greed, no wish for anything; but slowly used to develop relation with the wives of their disciples with lust though they were like their daughters. 22.

Drawing the people of great illusory fruits through their charms they used to take away wealth or at times by frightening them. 23. 

There he saw some men possessing sharp weapons and thick (rotund) iron rods and some having thick flattened iron. Also there were ascetics lustrous due to their penance, and some without weapons and some pleasantly dressed. Some were secretly cheating the people with chants, Charms and mystic diagrams. 24 - 25. 

There were Shaivas, Shaktas who followed wicked ways in accordance with Koulagama texts. Following the original ways as dictated by those scriptures they worshipped Shiva and Shakti. 26.

Though there were Vaishnavas, following right hand ways (rituals) they had not abandoned five ‘Makaras (Madya, Mamsa, Matsya, Mudra, Maithuna), and both groups of men insisted their disciples to follow these respective ways. 27. 

Shri Hari saw his adversaries in thousands moving in groups and thought they were of excessive burden on this earth, with their hidden wrong doings. 28. 

Having stayed for five nights, though he was desirous of moving for other pilgrimage, but continued to be there, to defeat them. 29. 

He stayed near the lake Indradyumna, most of the times, being dispassionate about everything, peaceful and not leaving one’s religious duties and devotion. 30. 

O King! That celibate-king moved in such a way that demons never came to know him as their true foe. 31. 

The citizens knew him as a great ascetic so they used to come and see him and serve him every day. 32. 

Whatever work the people started to do after consulting him, they immediately used to succeed in that, though it seemed to be very difficult. 33. 

When people used to get success in their deeds they used to offer him plenty of wealth, cloths and vessels etc. They used to tell him ‘This is for you’. 34. 

That dispassionate person never accepted those things even by sight; seeing thus, people wondered and thought him to be the Lord. 35. 

Demon’s intolerence of Shri Hari’s rise; they torment Him. 

Those demons greedy of wealth, women, food and other things and the hypo critic devotees, could not tolerate his rising greatness, out of envy. 36.

They indulged in humiliating him through insulting remarks often and those arrogant men engaged themselves in imposing false charges on him. 37.

Sometimes those furious men took him, while meditating, to their places and used to threaten him, who was an observer of great vow. 38. 

Some merciless cruel men holding him and making a slave of him, and some forcibly made him to speak when he observed silence. 39. 

Thus being tormented by the fools, Shri Hari, who was free from his bodily - ego and always absorbed in the Self, never became agitated within. 40.

Shri Hari, advice’s for them. 

Not leaving his uprightness and forgiveness Shri Hari, laughed and told them, with a wish to remove their evil nature, thus: 41. 

‘This earthly body is perishable and the inner Self is characterised by indestructibility and such other qualities. This has been claimed by Vedas and other scriptures and sages, long before. 42. 

Therefore respect and insult both are related to the body and so they are equal to me. I worship Lord Krishna always within my heart. 43. 

Anger is the great enemy of human beings which dwells in the body. It burns the body as well as destroys the good deeds. 44. 

All of you should be the worshipers and do renounce anger from your mind; because that anger is the great enemy of knowledge and devotion. So conquer it and worship your desired deity’. 45.

Demons disobey; quarrel between them and cause self destruction. 

Listening to this advice by Shri Hari, the men who were noble and virtuous previously, but by the cruel company had become demons, took to Shri Hari’s shelter for their beatitude. Some of them who were demons by birth even, took Shri Hari’s words as acceptable but others took these men to their enemies. 46 - 47. 

There arose a great quarrel between those corrupt minded demons fighting with each other with weapons, who had been the enemies of religion. 48.

Those foolish demons overpowered by ego, envy, hatred and anger, quarrelled with each other without reason. 49. 

Then the great celibate came to his own place and stayed there. He knew the forthcoming destruction of those sinful men, as they had no regard for his advice. 50.

Gathering in groups here and there, slaughtering each other, with agitated minds, they exchanged emotional remarks. 51. 

There was a great conflict again arose by Shri Hari’s illusory power between them with exchange of revolting words that not to be heard, and inaudible long shrilling noises. 52.

Blaming and condemning each other, they immediately started fighting taking weapons in their hands. Some of them took Shakti and some sharp axe, or lance or whip or a staff with a skull at the top, (Khatwanga) or iron rods or wooden sticks, or tridents, red with lead, or Bhushundi i.e. the knife or fire-arrows. 53 - 55. 

They slaughtered each other mercilessly being intolerant, with weapons or missiles or fists and wooden staffs and also with trees. 56. 

Those mighty men’s fighting sound was very high, mixed with beatings of kettle drums and other instruments. That violent war of demons, who became intoxicated by meat eating, was a horrible sight even to the brave. 57 - 58.

It was a great festivity for flesh eating devils, herons, crows, vultures and dogs, goblins, female devils, demons and Bhairavas, and all others who strive for blood and flesh. 59 - 60. 

Thousands of heads were rolled down the earth being slain by swords, as if coconuts. Some fighter’s feet were chopped, both shoulders were slain of some, and all the limbs were cut and thrown on the ground of some, in the battle, thus. 61 - 62. 

Lower lips of men had fallen, owing to pounding (gnawing) of teeth, their heads were crushed, that made the sight terrifying for the people. 63. 

O king, about ten thousand demons killing each other by anger, became the guests of Yama - the God of death, on that day. 64. 

Their war that begun in search of victory, thus continued forever, as they were mighty due to flesh eating, and intoxicated due to drinking wines. 65.

They died in thousand or two thousands a day, or in five hundreds, sometimes even five thousand of those (demons) in a day with death. 66. 

Sometimes only in hundred or two, or fifty on some day, they died, hurting each other, which went on for two months. 67. 

Thus, by the will of Shri Krishna, all the men of opposition to the religion, met with danger, that made gods joyful. 68. 

Some of them had their nose or ears or hands chopped off, and some were frightened at the war, ran away from the scene. 69. 

They told about this occurrence from the beginning entirely, to the powerful demons staying in various places. 70. 

Then those arch enemies of Shri Krishna, who were desirous of killing him, began to engage themselves in implementation of armoury, with eagerness. 71. 

Then Shri Hari thought that in the destruction of those demons, who were opponents of religion, the root cause of irreligious acts, had come to an end. 72. 

After that Shri Hari guiding those men who took to his shelter, and who were virtuous by nature, induced them to leave their bad ways and established them on a favourable path. 73. 

He taught them devotion to Shri Krishna, non-violence and entire religious duties, and in reciprocation he was honoured with love and worshipped by them. 74. 

Having got rid of the inner darkness by His influence, they came to know Him to be Narayan himself, began to serve Him abiding in His words. 75. 

Thus that Lord, though without weaponry, terminated haters of religion, by His own might, and his splendour dispelled the darkness. 76. 

Thus protecting the religion and devotion, the son of Dharma, being victorious upon the rivals of righteousness stayed in that town for ten months. 77.

Men who listen or sing Shri Hari’s life-story will become free from disturbances of enemies as well as other miseries and ultimately attain the abode of Achyuta. 78.

Thus ends the forty-eighth chapter entitled ‘The Defeat of demons in Utkaladesa’ in the first Prakarana of Satsangi Jivan, the life story of Lord Narayan, also titled as ‘Dharmashastra’ (the rules of the code of conduct). 48