Puranic encyclopaedia
by Vettam Mani | 1975 | 609,556 words | ISBN-10: 0842608222
This page describes the Story of Naraka included the Puranic encyclopaedia by Vettam Mani that was translated into English in 1975. The Puranas have for centuries profoundly influenced Indian life and Culture and are defined by their characteristic features (panca-lakshana, literally, ‘the five characteristics of a Purana�).
Story of Naraka
Birth.
Once the Asura ᾱṇyṣa was amusing himself by wading through the ocean and beating at the waves with his club. ղṇa, the god of water, was alarmed at this and ran to Ѳ屹ṣṇ and told him every thing. Hearing this Ѳ屹ṣṇ got up to kill ᾱṇyṣa. ᾱṇyṣa who had assumed the form of a Boar carried the earth on his tusks and ran to . As the goddess earth had come into contact with the tusks of ᾱṇyṣa she became pregnant and gave birth to an asura infant of immense might and power. That infant was Narakāsura.
Taking the infant born from impurity the sad goddess Earth went to Ѳ屹ṣṇ and requested him to save the child somehow. Ѳ屹ṣṇ pitied him and gave him ⲹṇāsٰ (ⲹṇa’s weapon) and said: "Naraka! So long as this weapon is with you, nobody but me could kill you." Saying this he disappeared. (岵ٲ, Skandha 10).
Administration.
Narakāsura made ʰ岵dzپṣa his capital and ruled over the asuras as their emperor for a long time, all the while terrifying the Devas. Once this asura raped Kaśerū the daughter of ձṣṭ. He brought sixteen thousand and one hundred maidens from the women of the earth and the world of gods. He made them captives at Audaka on the top of the mountain Ѳṇi貹ٲ. He appointed four mighty and fearful asuras: Ჹⲹī, Nisunda, ʲñԲ岹 and Mura as gate-keepers of ʰ岵dzپṣa. As they stood blocking the way up to ٱ𱹲Բ, nobody dared to enter ʰ岵dzپṣa. The ten sons of Narakāsura guarded the harem. At the boundary of the country ѳܰܰ had tied six thousand ropes with a sword at the end of each. So enemies dared not come near the boundary. When ܲī gave instructions to the monkeys who were sent in search of ī, about the route they were to follow, he had mentioned about the city of ʰ岵dzپṣa. Mention is made in ī쾱 峾ⲹṇa, ṣkԻ ṇḍ, Sarga 42 that ܲī had given them special instructions to search for ī in ʰ岵dzپṣa. (Ѳٲ վṣṇ Parva, Chapter 63).
Previous birth of Naraka.
Long ago a king who was the father of Sixteen thousand daughters, ruled over a country. While the father and daughters were sitting in the palace Ѳ屹ṣṇ came there as a hermit. The sixteen thousand damsels gathered round the hermit. Their father got angry and cursed them. The daughters shed tears and entreated their father for liberation from the curse. He gave them remission and said that in the next birth they would become wives of Ѳ屹ṣṇ.
Another version of this story says that the damsels had requested for liberation from the curse according to the advice of the hermit 岹, and that had given them liberation from the curse. In some versions it is stated that 岹 himself gave them liberation from the curse.
It was this King, who was the father of the sixteen thousand damsels, who took birth again as Narakāsura. Those sixteen thousand damels who had been born as princesses in different places were taken captives by Narakāsura and were kept in Audaka. (岵ٲ, Skandha 10).
Death.
Narakāsura who had been causing devastation and terror in the three worlds entered the world of the gods once. The gods were not able to withstand the fury of Naraka, who carried away the ear-rings of Aditi, the mother of Indra, and the large white royal umbrella of Indra to ʰ岵dzپṣa. Indra went to ٱ and told Śrī ṛṣṇa of the molestations he had received at the hands of Narakāsura. Śrī ṛṣṇa rode on his Ҳḍa with his wife ٲⲹ峾 to ʰ岵dzپṣa. They flew over the city round and understood the lay-out of the city, and the precautions taken by Narakāsura. The battle began after this reconnaissance. Śrī ṛṣṇa, ٲⲹ峾 and Ҳḍa fought with the asuras. The might asuras such as Mura, 峾, Գٲīṣa, Śṇa, Vasu, վ屹, Nabhasvān, ṇa and others were killed. At last Narakāsura himself entered the battlefield. A fierce battle ensued in which Naraka was killed. The divine weapon ⲹṇāsٰ of Naraka was given to his son Bhagadatta. After the battle Śrī ṛṣṇa and ٲⲹ峾 went to the world of the gods and returned the ear-rings to Aditi and the umbrella to Indra. (岵ٲ, Skandha 10).