Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto Six Dictation – August 11, 1975, Paris

He began to think of how to get rid of the sinful reaction

Prabhupada:

Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sixth Canto, Twelfth Chapter, verse number 24.

Translation: O the best of the kings, Maharaja Pariksit, Vrtrasura was completely able to subdue his enemy, took his trident made of iron and, whirling it around, he aimed at Indra and then he released upon him.

Text number 25.

Translation: Indra also by his thunderbolt of the name Sataparva simultaneously cut into pieces the trident released by Vrtrasura as well as his hand cut into pieces.

Text number 26.

Translation: Vrtrasura, being cut off by the two arms, profusely discharged blood, and he looked very beautiful, exactly as a mountain, or flying mountain killed by Indra being cut into pieces, the wings.

Purport: It appears from the statement of this verse that sometimes there are flying mountains also with wings, which are cut by the thunderbolt of Indra. Vrtrasura looked like that, although he was not a mountain, but his huge body appeared to be like mountain.

Text number 27, 28 and 29.

Translation: Vrtrasura was very, very powerful by bodily strength and influence. Now he kept his lower part of the chin on the ground and the other part, the upper part, expanded to the sky. In this way his mouth became very, very big, and his tongue just like big serpent, and at the time of his death he was just trying to chew the whole universe by his teeth. This way the great demon Vrtrasura, assuming a very, very big body, began to chastise even the mountain, and by his legs he began to dismantle the surface of the earth, as if Himalayan mountain is moving this way. He came before Indra, and thus he swallowed up Indra along with his carrier the elephant, exactly like a big python swallows up a big elephant.

Text number 30.

Translation: When it was seen that Indra was swallowed up by the great demon, at that time the prajapati-Lord Brahma and other great, great saintly persons, all the demigods, became very, very morose and began to say, "What a tribulation, tribulation!" Thus began to lament.

Text number 31.

Translation: The Narayana talisman which Indra possessed is as good as Narayana the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore being protected by that talisman as well as by dint of his mystic power, King Indra, although swallowed up within the belly of Vrtrasura, he did not die.

Text number 32.

Translation: King Indra also was very, very powerful. Thus by his thunderbolt he pierced through the abdomen of Vrtrasura, and with great force he immediately cut into two the head of Vrtrasura, which was as high as the peak of a mountain.

Text number 33.

Translation: The thunderbolt, although rotating round the neck of Vrtrasura with great force, still, to separate the head from the body took complete one year, 360 days, which is taken by the sun, moon and other luminaries complete one year, or 360 days. This way the head of Vrtrasura fell down on the ground.

Text number 34.

Translation: In this way, when Vrtrasura was killed, at that time in the higher planetary system, namely the heavenly planets, Gandharvaloka, Siddhaloka, there was beating of the kettledrums in jubilation, and by Vedic hymns they begun to eulogize Indra by showering flowers upon him.

Text number 35.

Translation: O the king Pariksit, subduer of enemies, at that time from the body of Vrtrasura the spark, a living being, came out, and in order to go back to home, back to Godhead while all the demigods seeing, he entered in the transcendental world to become associate of Lord Sahkarsana in the spiritual world.

Purport: Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in this way gives an explanation that actually Vrtrasura was not killed; Indra was killed. He said that while Vrtrasura swallowed up King Indra along with his carrier elephant, certainly he thought, "Now Indra is finished. I have killed Indra, so there is no more use of fighting. Now let me go back to home, back to Godhead." In this way he became situated in trance, stopping his all bodily activities. Taking advantage of the silence of the word, Indra came out of the belly, piercing through the abdomen. Because Vrtrasura was in trance, it was possible for him to come out. Now Vrtrasura was in kumbhaka-yoga-samadhi, [yogic trance accomplished by retention of breath] therefore his neck became very, very stiff. Although King Indra wanted to cut his throat, it was so stiff that his thunderbolt took complete 360 days to cut into pieces. Actually, the body left by Vrtrasura was cut into pieces by Indra; He was not killed. He, in his original consciousness, went back to home, back to Godhead, to become associate with Lord Sahkarsana. Here alokam means the transcendental world, or the Vaikunthaloka, where Sahkarsana resides eternally.

Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta purport of the Twelfth Chapter, Sixth Canto, of Srimad-Bhagavatam.

Next, Thirteenth Chapter. The summary of the thirteenth chapter is as follows: In this chapter it is described that Indra was very much afraid of killing a brahmana. Vrtrasura was a brahmana, thus he fled away from the scene, and how he was saved by the grace of Lord Visnu is described in this chapter.

The story is like this. When all the demigods combined together requested Indra to kill Vrtrasura, who was a brahmana, he refused to do it. All the demigods, however, encouraged Indra that he should not be afraid of killing a brahmana, because Indra was being protected by Narayana-kavaca, or by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Narayana. As such, even by a glimpse of chanting the name of Narayana, one becomes free from all the sinful reactions of killing woman, cow, brahmana. So he was advised to perform the sacrifice of asvamedha-yajna, by which Narayana is pleased, and as such, the performer of such yajna kills the whole universe, he is not implicated with the sinful reaction.

Under this instruction of the demigods, King Indra became engaged in fighting with Vrtrasura. However, Vrtrasura was killed, everyone became satisfied except King Indra, because he knew what was the position of Vrtrasura. This is the nature of great personality. A great personality, even though he acquires illegally some opulence of the world, he remains always ashamed and regretful.

Indra could understand that certainly he was entangled by sinful reaction of killing a brahmana. He could see how the sinful reaction personified was following him backward, and as such he fled out of fear here and there. He began to think of how to get rid of the sinful reaction. In this condition he went to Manasa-sarovara, and there, being protected by the goddess of fortune, he meditated there for thousands of years. During this time, Nahusa reigned…, ruled over the heavenly planets as representative of Indra. Unfortunately, he became attracted by the beauty of Indra's wife, Sacidevi; therefore on account of this sinful desire he had to accept the body of a serpent next life. In this way Indra later on performed a great sacrifice, taking help from big, big brahmanas, saintly persons, and in this way he was relieved from the reaction of sinful life on account of killing a brahmana.

Text number one.

Translation: O King Pariksit, who is so much charitably disposed, when Vrtrasura was killed, except Indra all the demigods became very, very happy and pleased.

Text number two.