02.003
Pancharatra: Maya built a magnificent Palace and gave it to Pandavas.
Vaiśampāyana said.
Then Maya said to Pārtha, Arjuna, the best among the victorious: "I take leave of you; I shall go and will return quickly." (2-3-1)
To the north, towards Kailāsa and Maināka mountains, when all the Dānavas were performing sacrifices, I then made a beautiful vessel of jewels for Bindusaras. (2-3-2)
O Bhārata, in the assembly of the truth-abiding one, whatever belonged to Vṛṣaparvan, if it still remains, I will come and take it. (2-3-3)
Then I shall construct a magnificent assembly hall for the illustrious Pāṇḍava, one that delights the mind and is adorned with every kind of jewel. (2-3-4)
O best of Kurus, there is an excellent mace, like that of Bindusaras, which was deposited by King Yauvanāśva after he had slain his enemies in battle. It is adorned with golden drops, heavy, able to bear weight, and firm. (2-3-5)
She, indeed, who is measured as a hundred thousand and is the destroyer of all, is as suitable to Bhīma as the Gāṇḍīva bow is to you. (2-3-6)
"Of Varuṇa and the great conch Devadatta, which has a beautiful sound, I shall give all this to you; there is no doubt about it." Having said this, the demon went to the northeast direction towards Pārtha. (2-3-7)
To the north, beyond Kailāsa and Maināka mountain, stands the venerable mountain Hiraṇyaśṛṅga, composed of great jewels and crowned with golden peaks. (2-3-8)
At the beautiful lake called Bindu, King Bhagīratha, after seeing the Bhāgīrathī Ganga, stayed there for many years. (2-3-9)
O best of the Bharatas, where the great-souled lord has been worshipped and a hundred principal sacrifices of all beings have been offered. (2-3-10)
Where sacrificial posts of jewels and altars of gold are arranged for beauty, they are not made as examples. (2-3-11)
Where, after worshipping, Indra, the thousand-eyed lord of Śacī, attained success; where the eternal lord of beings (Śiva), having created all the worlds, is worshipped, radiant and surrounded by thousands of beings. (2-3-12)
Where the sacrifice is performed at the end of a thousand yugas, Nara and Nārāyaṇa, Brahmā, Yama, Sthāṇu, and the fifth worship there. (2-3-13)
Where Vāsudeva performed sacrifices through sacrificial sessions lasting thousands of years, always with faith, for the attainment of the conduct of the wise. (2-3-14)
Keśava gave thousands and tens of millions of sacrificial posts adorned with golden garlands, all of which were exceedingly radiant. (2-3-15)
Having gone there, he seized the mace, conch, crystal, and all the assembly property that belonged to Vṛṣaparvan, O Bhārata. Together with the attendants and demons, he took everything. (2-3-16)
But having brought that, the asura made her into an unrivaled, auspicious assembly hall, renowned in the three worlds, divine and made of jewels. (2-3-17)
Then he gave the excellent mace to Bhīmasena. He also gave the conch named Devadatta, the best conch, to Pārtha (Arjuna). (2-3-18)
But, O great king, that assembly hall, with trees made of gold, was extended on all sides with ten thousand pillars. (2-3-19)
Just as fire, the sun, and the moon shine, so too did she, shining divinely, bear a supreme form. (2-3-20)
She shone with a radiance as if repelling others, her brilliance like that of the sun, blazing and divine, with celestial splendour. (2-3-21)
They, resembling mountains and clouds, having covered the sky, are spread out—extended, vast, smooth, free from evil, and free from fatigue. (2-3-22)
Endowed with the finest materials, adorned with garlands of jewel ramparts, abundant in gems and wealth, skillfully constructed by Viśvakarman. (2-3-23)
Neither the hall of the Dasharha (Krishna), nor Sudharma, nor even that of Brahma, was as splendid as the unrivaled one which Maya constructed, endowed with such form. (2-3-24)
There, eight thousand rākṣasas called servants, as spoken by Maya, indeed protect and carry her assembly hall. (2-3-25)
They move in the sky, are terrible and great-bodied, possessing immense strength, with red and tawny eyes, shell-like ears, and are strikers. (2-3-26)
In that assembly hall, Maya created an incomparable lotus, its leaves spread out with beryl and its stalks made of gems. (2-3-27)
A place filled with fragrant lotuses, inhabited by various groups of birds, adorned with blooming lotuses, and beautified by tortoises and fishes. (2-3-28)
With excellent fords, pure, filled with water in every season, auspicious, swept by the wind and adorned with drops like pearls. (2-3-29)
Some kings, even after approaching and seeing that heap of gems and jewels, did not recognize it; due to ignorance, they indeed fall. (2-3-30)
All around that assembly hall, there are always great flowering trees, close by, of various kinds, dark in color, with cool shade, and delightful. (2-3-31)
There are fragrant forests and lotus-ponds everywhere, filled with swans and ducks, and adorned by cakravāka birds. (2-3-32)
The wind, carrying the fragrance of water-born and land-born flowers and garlands in every way, attends upon the Pāṇḍavas. (2-3-33)
After constructing such a hall in exactly fourteen months, Maya presented the completed assembly to King Dharmarāja. (2-3-34)
