The guards said: "O Govinda, this tree belongs to Sachi, the queen of the king of celestials; it is not becoming for thee to remove it. When the ocean was churned by the celestials this tree was produced for the purpose of providing Sachi with flowery ornaments; thou shalt not go with it uncatched. This is the property of one whose countenance the king of the celestials delights to look; it is out of ignorance that thou dost attempt to take it—taking this no one shall be suffered to depart in peace. Forsooth shall the celestial chief punish this audacity; and when he shall take up his thunderbolt all the deities shall follow him. O thou imperishable, it is not proper for thee, to enter into conflict with all the divinities. The wise never undertake a work that terminates fatally". The guards having said this Satyabhāmā was greatly worked up with ire and said: "How does this Pārijāta belong to Sachi? Who is Sakra, the lord of the celestials? If this had been produced when the ocean was churned by the celestials then all have equal right over it—why shall Vāsava alone possess it? O ye warders of the garden, ambrosia, the moon and Lakshmi are the common properties of all; so is this Pārijāta tree. If Sachi has taken possession of it forcibly by the valour of her husband, do ye go and communicate unto her that Satyabhāmā is taking it away and let not Sachi forgive her. Do ye soon go to her and according to my instructions tell her that Satyabhāmā has given vent to these proud words. 'If thou art dear unto thy husband, if he is under thine control then let him take back the Pārijāta tree which my husband is taking away. I know thy husband Sakra is the master of the three worlds. Still being a mortal I take away this Panjata tree.'"
Parāçara said:—Being thus accosted, the warders went to Sachi and communicated unto her everything duly. And Sachi excited the lord of the three worlds. Thereupon accompanied by the army of the celestials, Indra, issued out to fight with Hari, in defence of the Pārijāta tree. The celestials were armed with clubs, swords, maces and darts and Indra wielded the thunderbolt. As soon as Govinda beheld the king of the celestials proceeding against him mounted on his elephant attended by the immortals he blew his shell so that all regions were filled with the sound thereof and he smilingly showered myriads of shafts upon his assailants. When the celestials saw that all the directions and atmosphere were overspread with arrows they also in return hurled numberless missiles. But all these, the slayer of Madhu, and the lord of the three worlds, sundered easily into a thousand pieces with his shafts. Garuda, the devourer of serpents, laid hold of the noose of the king of seas and tore it to pieces with his beak as if it had been a little snake. Devaki's son hurled his mace at the club of Yama and cast it broken upon the ground; he sundered in pieces the litter of the lord of riches with his discus; his eye-looks overclouded the radiance of the sun; he cut Agni into a hundred parts with his shafts and scattered the Vasus through the realms of the space; he sundered with his discus the points of the tridents of the Rudras and cast themselves upon the earth; and with the arrows shot from his bow he scattered the Sadhyas, Viswas, Maruts and Gandharvas through the sky, like fleeces of cotton from the pods of the Simal tree. Garuda also diligently plied his beak and wings and bit and bruised and scratched the celestials who opposed his lord. Like unto two heavy clouds showering raindrops the king of the celestials and the slayer of Madhu overpowered each other with numberless arrows. Garuda fought with Airavata in that conflict and Janārddana engaged with his discus with all the celestials. When all other weapons had been sundered into pieces Indra stood armed with his thunderbolt and Krishna with the discus Sudarshana. Beholding them thus ready for fight all the inhabitants of the three worlds, cried aloud "Alas! Alas!" In vain did Indra hurl his bolt for Hari caught and arrested it. He however, did not hurl his discus, but only called out to Indra to stay. Beholding Indra disarmed and his elephant disabled by Garuda and the deity about to fly away Satyabhāmā said to him:—"O king of three worlds, it becomes not the husband of Sachi to run away. She will approach you adorned with Pārijāta garlands. What shalt thou do with the kingdom of heaven when no longer thou dost behold Sachi approach thee, like before, embellished with Pārijāta garlands? Fly not O Sakra; you must suffer shame, take the Pārijatā; let the celestials be no longer annoyed. Worked up with the pride of her husband Sachi has not welcomed me to her dwelling with her respectful presents. O king of the celestials, I am a woman and therefore of light purpose and am anxious of my husband's fame; for this I have instituted this fight with thee. I do not require the Pārijatā any more. Why shall we steal another's property? What female is not inflated with the pride of her husband? But she is proud of her beauty".
Parāçara said:—Thus addressed by her the king of the celestials turned back and said:—"O wrathful dame, thou shouldst not afflict thy friend with further reproaches. I am not ashamed of being defeated by him who is the author of the creation, preservation and destruction of the world, who is the substance of all things, and in whom the universe exists, without beginning or middle, and from whom and by whom at one with all things, it proceeds and will cease to be. O goddess, what disgrace it is to any one, to be vanquished by him who is the agent of creation, preservation and destruction? His form, though infinitely subtle, is the parent of all worlds and is known to those only by whom all that may be known is known; who is capable of defeating the unborn, unconstituted, eternal lord, who has, of his own accord, descended for the behoof of the world?"
SECTION XXXI.
Thus chanted by the king of the celestials, Kesava smiled and replied gravely saying:—"Thou art, O Indra, the king of the celestials: we are mere mortals, O king of the universe. Thou must therefore forgive me, for the offence I have committed. Let this Pārijatā tree be taken to its proper place. I remove it to satisfy Satya's desire. Take back also this thy thunderbolt which thou didst hurl at me; for this is your proper weapon—O slayer of thy enemies". Whereto Indra replied, saying:—"O lord, thou dost beguile us in calling thyself mortal. We are endowed with subtlety of discernment and therefore know thee as gifted with six qualities. Whoever thou mayst be, O slayer of thine enemies, thou art engaged in the active preservation of earth and thou removest the thorns implanted in her bosom. O Krishna, do thou take this Pārijatā tree to the city of Dwārakā and when thou shalt renounce this land of mortals it shall no longer remain on earth".
Parāçara said:—Having agreed to the proposal of the king of the celestials Hari returned to earth eulogised by attendant sages, saints and quiristers of heaven.
When Krishna arrived over the city of Dwārakā he blew his conch and delighted the inhabitants with the sound. Thereupon alighting from Garuda he proceeded with Satyabhāmā to her garden, and there planted the great Pārijāta tree the smell of which extended over the earth for three furlongs and an approach to which enabled every one to recollect the events of a pristine existence. And beholding their faces in that tree the Yadavas know themselves in their (original) celestial forms. Then Krishna took possession of wealth, elephants, horses and men which he had recovered from Naraka and which had brought to Dwārakā by the servants of the demon; and at an auspicious hour he married all the maidens whom Naraka had carried off from their friends; and simultaneously at the same time in different mansions he received the hands the damsels. The number of the maidens was sixteen thousand and one hundred and in so many forms did the slayer of Madhu appear, so that every one of them thought that he had wedded her in his single person. Hari the creator of the world and the assumer of the universal shape lived severally in the mansion of each of these his wives.
SECTION XXXII.
Parāçara said:—I have enumerated to you Pradyumna and other sons begotten on Rukmini by Krishna. Satyabhāmā bore Bhanu and Bhairika. The sons of Rohini were Diptimat, Tamrepakshi and others; Jamvabati gave birth to the powerful Samba and other sons. Bhadravinda and other valiant youths were the sons of Nagnajiti. Saivya bore several sons of whom Sangramajit was the chief. Vikra and others were begotten by Hari on Madri. Lakshmanā gave birth to Gatravat and others; and Sruta and others were the sons of Kālindi. Besides Krishna had sons by his other wives, in all one hundred and eighty thousand. The eldest of the whole was Pradyumna, the son of Rukmini; his son was Aniruddha, whose son was Vraja; his mother was Ushā, the daughter of Bāna the grand daughter of Bāli, whom Aniruddha won in war. On that occasion a dreadful onset endued between Hari and Sankara in which the thousand arms of Bāna were cut off by the discus of the former.
Maitreya said: How is it, O venerable Brahman, that a contest took place, on account of Ushā, between Siva and Krishna? And in what manner did Hari cut off the thousand arms of Bāna? I am stricken with curiosity to hear this story of Hari—do thou, O venerable Sir, relate this.