Initiation of Residents of Tripura

Sanatkumara said

To put a block in the way of the daityas' dharma, Achyuta brought forth from his own body an extremely energetic figure, made of maya: head shaved, clothes filthy, a woven wicker pot and a roll of cotton in his hands, which he shook at every step. His hands, clutching his robe, were feeble, his face always drawn, and in a weak, quavering voice the sage said, "Follow dharma." He bowed to Vishnu, stood before him with joined hands and asked Hari what worship he should follow, what his names would be and where he would live.

Bhagavan Vishnu was pleased by the courteous request and told him why he had been made. He was born of Vishnu's body and so was his form and must do his work; being Vishnu's, he would always be honoured. His name was to be Arihat, with many other auspicious names, and his dwelling would be named later. First, said Vishnu, he must compose a sacred text of sixteen thousand verses, one that ran against the shrutis and smritis, said nothing of varnas and ashramas, was written in apabhramsha and stressed karma alone. Vishnu would give him the power to compose and spread it, and many kinds of maya would come quickly under his control.

The possessor of maya bowed and asked to be told at once what to do, promising that every command would succeed. Then he recited a line from the text of maya: heaven and hell are both here in this world, plainly, and nowhere else. Remembering Shiva's feet, Vishnu spoke again: he was to delude all the daityas of Tripura, teach them the text and give them diksha, and no sin would touch him because he acted at Vishnu's order. Vedic dharma was plainly followed there, but this teaching would make it all burst apart. He should go and reveal the dharma of tamas and so destroy Tripura. Afterward he would go to the desert regions and live by his own dharma until kali yuga came, when it would be revealed; he would have disciples and they would have disciples, and by Vishnu's command the dharma would surely spread. Then he would reach an eternal state with Vishnu. So Vishnu, whose power pervades everything, instructed him; Hari, lord of the gods, put the command into his heart and disappeared.

The shaven-headed one obeyed. He made four disciples like himself and had them study the maya-texts. They too had shaven heads and an auspicious look, and they bowed to Hari the paramatman. Sage, Hari, following Shiva's instructions, was extremely happy and told the four that, by his command, they would be blessed like their guru and reach a virtuous end. Those four took up the dharma of pashandas: they carried pots, covered their mouths with cloth, wore dirty clothing and stayed silent, saying cheerfully that dharma is the greatest gain and similar words. They carried brooms made from rag strips and walked slowly for fear of hurting living beings. Full of joy they stood once more before Bhagavan and bowed. Hari took them by the hand and gave them to the guru, telling them kindly their names. They were his, as the guru was, and being worthy of worship would have the word "pujya" before their names; they would be called Rishi, Yati, Acharya and Upadhyaya, and all would be famous. The guru too would take Vishnu's auspicious names, of which Arihat destroys sins. They would do all that gladly serves the worlds, for those who act kindly toward the worlds come to an excellent end.

With his disciples the possessor of maya bowed and, meaning to do Shiva's bidding, went straight to Tripura. Urged by Vishnu and holding himself in check, he entered the city and stayed with his disciples in a grove outside. Great in maya, the rishi showed his powers and tried to confuse them. But by the strength of their worship of Shiva that maya could not shift Tripura, and he lost heart. He remembered Vishnu, praised him in many ways, dejected and distressed. At once Vishnu, thinking of him, remembered Shankara in his heart, mentally received his consent and remembered Narada.

Narada appeared as soon as Vishnu thought of him, bowed and stood with joined hands. Vishnu, the most intelligent, told him: he was always devoted to the worlds' welfare and the gods' tasks; at Shiva's command he should go quickly to Tripura, where the rishi and his disciples had already gone to delude the residents.

Hearing it, Narada hurried to where the great master of maya was. Narada knew maya and was set on this by the lord who himself uses it. He went into the city and took diksha from the master of maya. Then he went to Tripura's lord, asked after the king's welfare and told him: a mendicant had come, devoted to dharma, possessing the best knowledge and great learning in the Vedas; he had seen many kinds of dharma, but nothing like this, and having seen this eternal dharma he himself had taken diksha. If the king wished, he should follow it too, and receive diksha in accordance with it.

The words were charged with deep meaning, and the daitya lord's heart was amazed. Deluded, he decided that since Narada had taken diksha they should too, and went himself. Seeing the mendicant's form, he was taken in by his maya, bowed to him and begged for diksha, swearing to be his disciple. The rishi answered, with self-command, that he would give diksha only if the king did exactly as he was told; otherwise, not if he tried a crore of times. The king, hands joined, promised at once to obey and never to break his order. Hearing it, the excellent rishi took the cloth from his mouth and said that diksha into the best of dharmas, given by the rules, would bring success. And so the master of maya quickly gave the king of daityas diksha according to the rules of his own dharma. Sage, when the king took it, naturally all Tripura's residents did too, and the sage's disciples and sub-disciples filled the whole city.