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Library: How Kshatriya race was revived; later danavas and devas took birth on earth.
Janamejaya spoke:
O Brahman, who are these praised ones and others not mentioned? I wish to hear about them properly, and about other illustrious kings.
O fortunate one, you should properly tell me the purpose for which these god-like great warriors were born on earth.
Vaiśampāyana spoke:
O King, we have indeed heard this secret of the gods. However, I will reveal it to you after offering my salutations to the self-born.
Parashurama, the son of Jamadagni, after ridding the earth of Kshatriyas twenty-one times in the past, performed penance on the great Mahendra mountain.
Then, when the world was devoid of kshatriyas due to the actions of Bhargava, the Kshatriya women, desiring offspring, approached the Brahmins, O king.
The Brahmins of firm vows arrived together with them, O tiger among men, adhering to truth and conduct, not driven by desires or falsehood.
To them, the Kshatriyas indeed obtained thousands of embryos. Then, O king, they gave birth to valor-approved Kshatriyas, sons and daughters, for the continued growth of the Kshatriya lineage.
Thus, the Kshatriya class, born and nurtured by Brahmins and ascetics, flourished under the principles of dharma, endowed with long life. At that time, all four castes existed with Brahmins being the foremost.
O best of the Bharatas, beings approach their mates in season, not out of desire, and this is true for other creatures born in lower species as well. In season, they go to their wives.
Then, O protector of the earth, those subjects grew in righteousness, living for hundreds of thousands of years, and were completely free from all mental sufferings and diseases, devoted to the vow of righteousness.
Then, this earth, bordered by the ocean and entirely under the control of the elephant, was once again ruled by the kings along with its mountains, forests, and groves.
Once again, the kshatriya, ruling the earth with righteousness, brought supreme joy to the brahmins and other castes.
The kings, by eliminating the faults born of desire and anger, administered justice by punishing the guilty and ensured the protection of their subjects.
Thus, in the field of supreme duty, the thousand-eyed Indra, known as Śatakratu, rained sweetly in the region and at the right time, nourishing all creatures.
O King, at that time, no child dies, nor does anyone know a woman who has not yet reached her youth.
Thus, O best of the Bharatas, this earth, extending to the ocean, was populated by the long-lived subjects.
The warriors performed great sacrifices with many gifts, and the learned studied the Vedas along with their limbs and Upanishads at that time.
O king, the Brahmins do not sell the sacred knowledge, nor do they recite the Vedas in the presence of Shudras.
Here on earth, the merchants engaged in agriculture with cows, but they did not yoke the emaciated cows to the plow and also took care of them.
Humans did not milk the calves along with the froth. Merchants did not sell goods with false measures at that time.
O tiger among men, the humans, endowed with righteousness, performed their duties with a focus solely on dharma, being devoted to it.
O King, all classes were engaged in their own duties. Thus, O tiger among men, the duty never diminishes anywhere.
O best of the Bharatas, in due time, cows give birth and women too. Trees bear flowers and fruits in their seasons.
During the Krita Yuga, when everything was in perfect order, the earth was abundantly populated with numerous beings, O king.
O best of the Bharatas, when the human world emerged, demons appeared in the realm of kings, O noble one.
Indeed, then the demons were defeated many times in battle by the Ādityas and were deprived of their power, thus they came to exist here on earth.
Here, O Lord, the wise ones among humans, desiring divinity, were born on earth among beings; those were the demons.
O King, the presence is in cows, horses, donkeys, camels, buffaloes, carnivorous beings, other beings, elephants, and deer.
O King, here on earth, with those who were born and those being born, the earth itself was unable to support itself.
Then some powerful kings, born as sons of Diti and Danu, have fallen from this world.
The powerful and arrogant warriors, capable of assuming various forms, traversed the earth up to the ocean's edge, destroying their enemies along the way.
Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, as well as other beings, were tormented with strength.
O king, they roamed the earth in hundreds of thousands, terrifying and annihilating those groups of beings.
In the hermitages, the non-religious, intoxicated by their own power and pride, repeatedly harassed the great sages.
O King, the earth, oppressed by the great demons who were arrogant with their strength and power, sought the help of Brahma.
At that time, neither the wind, nor the serpents, nor the mountains could support the earth, as it was overwhelmed by the force of the demons, O king.
Then the earth, burdened by the rule of the king and afflicted with fear, sought refuge in the god, the grandfather of all beings.
She, accompanied by the illustrious gods, brahmins, and great sages, beheld the god Brahma, the eternal creator of the universe.
The Gandharvas and Apsaras, skilled in singing praises, joyfully praised him, and she approached and bowed to him.
Then, O Bharata, the Earth, seeking refuge, appealed to him in the presence of all the protectors of the world.
The supreme lord had already known the duty of the chief soul of the earth, the self-born, O king.
O Bhārata, why would the creator of the universe not fully comprehend the thoughts of all the worlds, including those of gods and demons?
The omnipresent lord of the earth, Shambhu, who is the source and progenitor of all beings, addressed him, saying, 'O great king, the earth.'
O Earth, you have come to me for a purpose, and for that purpose, I will engage all the celestials.
After speaking thus, the god Brahma, having released the earth, commanded all the gods himself, O king, as the creator of beings.
He said, "To remove the burden of this earth, be born separately in parts for opposition in this very place."
Similarly, the Lord gathered the groups of Gandharvas and Apsaras and addressed them with these excellent words: "Procreate freely with your own parts as you desire among humans."
Then all the gods, including Indra, listened to the words of their guru and accepted them as true, beneficial, and wholesome.
Then they, having prepared themselves completely, began their journey to the earth to approach Narayana, the destroyer of enemies, in Vaikuntha.
He is the one who holds the discus and mace, wears yellow garments, has a dark hue, a lotus at his navel, destroys the enemies of the gods, and possesses broad, charming, curved eyes.
Indra requested the Supreme Person to descend to purify the earth, and Hari agreed to do so by manifesting a part of himself.
