Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana Book 3 Chapter 18:1-11

Book 3: Chapter 18

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Srimad Bhagvata Mahapurana: Book 3: Chapter 18: Verses 1-11
Encounter of the Divine Boar with Hiranyaksa

Maitreya continued : Hearing the foregoing words of Varuna (the lord of waters), the proud and vainglorious Daitya paid little heed to them. And having learnt from Narada the whereabouts of Sri Hari, O dear Vidura, he hurriedly betook himself to the depths of the ocean. He saw there the all-victorious divine Boar bearing the earth upwards on the ends of His tusks and robbing the demon of his splendour by His reddish eyes, and laughed. "Oh ! an amphibious beast !" (Turning to the Lord) he said, "Come on, fool; leave the earth. The Maker of the universe has entrusted her to us, the dwellers in Rasatala. You cannot escape unscathed with her before my very eyes, O vile god disguised as a boar! Have you been reared by our enemies (the gods) for our extermination, as you kill the Asuras by deceptive methods and conquer them while remaining invisible yourself ?You possess little prowess, Yogamaya (deception) being your only strength. Therefore, by killing you, O fool, I shall wipe the tears of my kith and kin. When you fall dead with your skull smashed by the mace hurled by our arms, the gods and sages who bear offerings to you will cease to be like trees without roots." Though being pierced by the shaft-like abusive words of the enemy, the Lord bore the pain, perceiving the Earth on the ends of His tusks affrighted, and emerged out of the water like an elephant with his female companion assailed by an alligator. The Daitya, who had golden hair (on his head) and fearful tusks, gave a chase to the Lord while He was rising out of the water, even as an alligator would chase an elephant, and, roaring like thunder, said, "(Are you not ashamed of running away before a challenging adversary ?) Or there is nothing reproachful for shameless wretches." The Lord placed the earth on the surface of the water within His sight and transferred to her His own energy in the form of capacity to support herself on the water, while the enemy stood looking on and while Brahma (the creator of the universe) extolled Him and the (other) gods rained flowers on Him. The Lord now displayed a terrible rage and spoke laughing to the demon, who was now close upon Him, armed with a mighty mace, nay, who was adorned with gold ornaments and protected by a queer armour of gold, and had all along been cutting Him to the quick by his abusive words. The Lord said : Indeed we are wild brutes, O wretch, looking about for dogs like you. Heroes take no notice of your braggadocio, bound as you are with the cords of Death. Scared away by your mace, we, who have stolen the charge of the dwellers in Rasatala, stand here, casting all shame to the winds. Yet willy-nilly we must take our stand on the battle-field; for, having brought about enmity with a powerful adversary, where can we go ?

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