Parāçara said:—Thereupon Sakra, the lord of the three worlds, came
mounted on his infuriated elephant Airāvata to visit Sauri at Dwārakā.
Having entered Dwārakā and been welcomed by Hari he communicated unto
him the actions of the demon Naraka. (He said) "O slayer of Madhu, by
thee, the lord of the deities, although situated in mortal condition,
all afflictions have been soothed; thou hast slain Arishta, Dhenuka,
Chānura, Mushtika, Kesin,—all the demons who were slaying the ascetics.
Kansa, Kavalayapida and child-destroying Putanā, as well as other
oppressors of the world have all been slain by thee. The three worlds
being protected by thy valour and wisdom, the deities, obtaining the
share of sacrifices undertaken by the devout, enjoy satisfaction. Hear,
O Janārddana, for why I have come to thee and try to remedy it. O slayer
of enemies, residing in the city of Pragyotish, the demon Naraka, son of
Bhumi, has been inflicting the creatures. Carrying off the maidens of
the celestials, saints, demons and kings he shuts them up in his own
palace. He has carried away the umbrella of Varuna, always producing
water, the jewel mountain crest of Mandara, and the nectar-dropping
ear-rings of my mother Aditi; and he now demands my elephant Airāvat. O
Govinda, I have thus related unto thee the oppressions of the demon
Naraka—do thou now consider what thou shouldst do in this". Having heard
this, the illustrious son of Devaki gently smiled and taking Vāsava by
the hand rose up from the excellent seat. Thereupon the lord thinking of
the eater of serpents Garuda, he immediately appeared there. And having
first placed Satyabhāmā on his back he ascended and flew to the city of
Pragyotish. Having ascended the elephant Airivat, Indra, the lord of the
celestials, set out for his city in the sight of the inhabitants of
Dwārakā.
O foremost of twice-born ones, the four sides of the city Pragyotish to
the extent of a yojana were environed by nooses made by the demon Mura,
whose edges were as sharp as razors. But throwing his discus Sudarshana
amongst them Hari sundered them into pieces. Thereupon Mura rose up but
Krishna killed him and burnt his seven thousand sons like so many moths
with the flame of the edge of his discus. Having slain Mura, Hayagriva,
and Panchajana the wise Hari soon reached the city of Pragyotish. There
ensued a dreadful conflict with Naraka's troops in which Govinda slew
thousands of demons. And the annihilator of the demon tribe cut in two
with his discus Bhumi's son Naraka who came there showering arrows and
weapons upon the celestials. The demon Naraka being slain, Earth, taking
the two ear-rings of Aditi, approached the lord of the world and said "O
lord, when I was upheld by thee in the shape of a boar, then this my son
was engendered by thy contact. Thou didst confer this son upon me and
thou hast slain him now. Do thou now take this pair of ear-rings and
protect his progeny. Thou, O lord, whose aspect is ever pleasing, hast
incarnated on this sphere a portion of thyself to lighten my burden.
Thou art the eternal creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe,
the origin of all the worlds and identical with the universe; how can we
worthily chant thy glories? Thou art the pervader and that which is
pervaded, the act, the agent and the effect—thou art the soul of all
creatures and how can we sufficiently chant thy glories? Thou art the
great soul—the sentient and living soul of all beings and
imperishable—there is no praise worthy of thee—how can we chant thy
glories? Have pity, O universal soul and forgive the iniquities which
Naraka has committed. Verily it is for his purification that he hath
been killed by thee".
Parāçara said Having replied to the Earth saying "so be it" the lord,
who is the substance of all creatures, took various jewels from Naraka's
abode. Having entered the female apartment the highly powerful Krishna
saw sixteen thousand and one hundred damsels. He also found in the
palace sixteen thousand huge elephants each having four tusks,
twenty-one lakhs of horses of Kāmboja and other excellent breeds. All
those Govinda sent to Dwārakā in charge of the servants of Naraka.
Thereupon he placed Varuna's umbrella and the golden mountain on
Garuda's back, And having ascended with Satyabhāmā he repaired to the
city of celestials to restore to Aditi her ear-rings.