Mahabharatha

HARIVAMSHA

Chapter.I

Shounaka said, O souti ! You have recounted the extremely great account of those born from the bharatha lineage, all the king's,The Gods, The Danavas,The Serpents,The Rakshasas,The daityas,The Siddha's, The Guhyakas,Their Extraordinary acts of valour,The Supreme and wonderful accounts of their births and the determinations of dharma. In gentle words, you have spoken about these sacred and ancient accounts. Our minds and ears have become happy and delighted and are full of Amrita. O Lomaharshana's son ! You have also spoken to us about the birth of those from the kuru lineage. However, You have not spoken about the vrishnis and the Andhakas. Tell us about them'.

Suta replied', Janamejaya asked vyasa's intelligent disciple about this, following this, I will tell you the truth about the lineage of the vrishnis, from the beginning. After having heard the entire history about the bharatha lineage,The immensely wise Bharata Janamejaya spoke to vaishampayana.

"The account of the Mahabharatha has many meanings and is extensive in its compass. O brahmana! You have told me about it in detail and I have heard it. You have spoken about many brave ones, bulls among men, and the names and deeds of the maharatha vrishnis and Andhakas. O supreme among Brahmanas!

You have also spoken about their deeds. O lord! However,you have only spoken about this briefly and not in detail. Iam not satisfied with what you have already recounted. It is my view that the vrishnis and the Pandavas were related. You know about their lineages in detail and were a direct witness. O store of austerities ! Speak about their lineage in detail. I wish to know about who was born in whose lineage. 

What is the wonderful story of their being created earlier, by Prajapati ?

 " The great souled and great ascetic was honoured well and asked in this fashion. He thus recounted the story in detail, following the due order'. Vaishampayana said .' O king ! Listen to the sacred and divine account, One that is destructive of all sins. I will tell you about these wonderful and diverse accounts, honoured in the sacred texts. O son ! If a person sustains this and ceaselessly listens to it, he manages to uphold his own lineage and obtains greatness in the world of heaven. The eternal and unmanifest cause has existence and non-existence in his soul. He is pradhana or purusha. Though he is without a sense of ownership, he is the lord of the universe and everything flows from him. O great  king ! Know him to be the infinitely energetic Brahma. He is the creator of all beings and he seeks refuge with Narayana. Mahat resulted from him and Ahamkara from Mahat. From this, all beings were created.

The diverse gross elements created from the subtle elements and this is the eternal nature of  creation. Depending on my wisdom and based on what I have heard ,I will now describe this in detail. This recounting will enhance the deeds of the ancestors. Listen, All of them were firm in their tasks and sacred in their deeds. This recounting leads to the enhancement of riches , fame and lifespans, slays enemies and leads to heaven. You are purest among those who are pure. Iam capable of telling and you can comprehend. Therefore , I will tell you about the supreme story of the creation of beings, including the lineage of the vrishnis. The illustrious Vishnu svayambhu wished to create different kinds of beings. He first created water and then released his energy into it. We have earlier heard that water is known by the name of "Nara". Since he lay down on it earlier, he is known by the name of "Narayana".

While he lay down on the water, a golden egg was generated and svayambhu Brahma was himself born from this. This is what we have heard. The illustrious  "Hiranyagarbha" resided inside it for an entire year and thereafter divided the egg into two, thus creating heaven and earth. Between the two halves that were in the water, the lord created the sky. The earth was flooded with water and he created the ten directions. Desiring to create , Prajapati created the forms of time, thoughts, words, desire,anger and attachment. From his mind, he created the seven greatly energetic ones - Marichi,Atri,Angiras,Pulastya,Pulaha,Kratu and Vasishtha. It has been determined that these are the seven ancient Brahmanas. These seven were born from Brahma and have Narayana in their soul.

Having created them, Brahma again created Rudra from his wrath. He also created sanatkumara and the other rishis, who were the ancestors of the ancestors. O descendant of the Bharata lineage ! Rudra, and those seven, began to create offspring. However, Skanda and sanatkumara restrained their seed. Those seven created divine and great lineages and large numbers of gods are also included in them, as are many maharshis. They performed rites and had offspring. He also created lighting, thunder , clouds , the rainbow, acquatic creatures and rain. For the success of sacrifices, he fashioned hymns of the Rigveda, the Yajur veda and the Sama veda. We have heard that the gods known as sadhyas are always engaged in performing sacrifices. He created the superior and the inferior creatures from his own body. Prajapati thus created large numbers of beings that dwelt in the water. He then divided his body into two , and one half of the body became purusha. The other half became female and gave birth to many kinds of creatures. In this way, they pervade heaven and earth in their greatness. Vishnu created a great and radiant being. Know that being as "Manu" and "Manvantara is named after this. There is a second creation that is said to have occured after the mental one. This is known as vairaja creation and was done by the lord. The first cycle of creation was not born from wombs and was a creation that resulted from Narayana. If a man knows about this original creation, he obtains a long life and has fame , riches and offspring. He obtains the destination that he desires'.

_______________________________________