ArchTale 46. The Serpent's Failure

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Edited By SpareHeadOne
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Despite the flood the serpent king persisted in his quest to preserve his throne.

He continued influencing selfish men to do things that could kill the daughter and therefore kill the coming Son.

As humanity gradually populated the earth he influenced selfish rulers to expand their kingdoms by war, all for the purpose of killing the daughter before she could give birth.

The-Seed of The-Man continued protecting the seed of The-Woman and so the serpent king failed.

Eventually the time came for the seeds to come together.

On The World-Tree the bough of humanity had grown back and branches formed.

In one of those branches the seed of The-Woman had blossomed.

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#1  Edited By SpareHeadOne

The serpent seeks to kill the daughter before she gives birth

Ancient Greece

Python, offspring of Gaia, was a huge draco who, before the time of Apollo, used to give oracular responses on Mount Parnassus. Death was fated to come to him from the offspring of Leto. At that time Zeus lay with Leto, daughter of Koios. When Hera found this out, she decreed that Leto should give birth at a place where the sun did not shine. When Python knew that Leto was pregnant by Zeus, he followed her to kill her.

-Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 140 : (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer

The evil king seeks to kill the daughter before she gives birth

The evil king is often the uncle or part-brother of the coming hero king.

Hindu

Some time ago, Vasudeva, who belonged to the demigod family, married Devakī. After the marriage, he mounted his chariot to return home with his newly married wife. Devakīàs brother Kamsa, the son of King Ugrasena, in order to please his sister on the occasion of her marriage became their chariot driver. Kamsa was a condemned personality in the Bhoja dynasty because he was envious and sinful. While Kamsa was driving the chariot along the way, an unembodied voice addressed him, “You foolish rascal, the eighth child of the woman you are carrying will kill you!” Therefore, upon hearing this omen from the sky, he caught hold of his sister’s hair with his left hand and took up his sword with his right hand to sever her head from her body. Wanting to pacify Kamsa, who was so cruel and envious that he was shamelessly ready to kill his sister, the great soul Vasudeva, who was to be the father of Krishna, spoke to him in the following words. Vasudeva said: My dear brother-in-law Kamsa, you are the pride of your family, the Bhoja dynasty, and great heroes praise your qualities. How could such a qualified person as you kill a woman, your own sister, especially on the occasion of her marriage? As your younger sister, this poor girl Devakī is like your own daughter and deserves to be affectionately maintained. You are merciful, and therefore you should not kill her. Indeed, she deserves your affection. Kamsa was fiercely cruel and was actually a follower of the Rāksasas. Therefore he could be neither pacified nor terrified by the good instructions given by Vasudeva. He did not care about the results of sinful activities. When Vasudeva saw that Kamsa was determined to kill his sister Devakī, he thought to himself very deeply. Considering the imminent danger of death, he thought of another plan to stop Kamsa. As long as he has intelligence and bodily strength, an intelligent person must try to avoid death. This is the duty of every embodied person. But if death cannot be avoided in spite of one’s endeavors, a person facing death commits no offense. Vasudeva considered: By delivering all my sons to Kamsa, who is death personified, I shall save the life of Devakī. Perhaps Kamsa will die before my sons take birth, or, since he is already destined to die at the hands of my son, one of my sons may kill him. For the time being, let me promise to hand over my sons so that Kamsa will give up this immediate threat, and if in due course of time Kamsa dies, I shall have nothing to fear. After thus considering the matter as far as his knowledge would allow, Vasudeva submitted his proposal to the sinful Kamsa with great respect. Vasudeva’s mind was full of anxiety because his wife was facing danger, but in order to please the cruel, shameless and sinful Kamsa, he externally smiled and spoke to him as follows. Vasudeva said: O best of the sober, you have nothing to fear from your sister Devakī because of what you have heard from the unseen omen. The cause of death will be her sons. Therefore I promise that when she gives birth to the sons from whom your fear has arisen, I shall deliver them all unto your hands. Kamsa agreed to the logical arguments of Vasudeva, and, having full faith in Vasudeva’s words, he refrained from killing his sister. Vasudeva, being pleased with Kamsa, pacified him further and entered his own house. Each year thereafter, in due course of time, Devakī, the mother of God and all the demigods, gave birth to a child. Thus she bore eight sons, one after another, and a daughter named Subhadrā. When Kamsa saw that Vasudeva, being situated in truthfulness, was completely equipoised in giving him the first child, he was very happy. Therefore, with a smiling face, he spoke as follows. O Vasudeva, you may take back your child and go home. I have no fear of your first child. It is the eighth child of you and Devakī I am concerned with because that is the child by whom I am destined to be killed. Vasudeva agreed and took his child back home, but because Kamsa had no character and no self-control, Vasudeva knew that he could not rely on Kamsa’s word. Once the great saint Nārada approached Kamsa and informed him of how the demoniac persons who were a great burden on the earth were going to be killed. Thus Kamsa was placed into great fear and doubt. After the departure of the great saint Nārada, Kamsa thought that all the members of the Yadu dynasty were demigods and that any of the children born from the womb of Devakī might be Visnu. Fearing his death, Kamsa arrested Vasudeva and Devakī and chained them with iron shackles. Suspecting each of the children to be Visnu, Kamsa killed them one after another because of the prophecy that Visnu would kill him. Kings greedy for sense gratification on this earth almost always kill their enemies indiscriminately. To satisfy their own whims, they may kill anyone, even their mothers, fathers, brothers or friends. Upon learning this information from Nārada, Kamsa became envious of everyone connected with the Yadu dynasty. Kamsa, the most powerful son of Ugrasena, even imprisoned his own father, the King of the Yadu, Bhoja and Andhaka dynasties, and personally ruled the states known as Śūrasena. Under the protection of Magadharāja, Jarāsandha, the powerful Kamsa began persecuting the kings of the Yadu dynasty. In this he had the cooperation of demons and many other demoniac kings on the surface of the earth. Persecuted by the demoniac kings, the Yādavas left their own kingdom and entered various other kingdoms Some of their relatives, however, began to follow Kamsa’s principles and act in his service. After Kamsa, the son of Ugrasena, killed the six sons of Devakī, a plenary portion of Krishna entered her womb as her seventh child, arousing her pleasure and her lamentation. That plenary portion is celebrated by great sages as Ananta, who belongs to Krishna’s second quadruple expansion. Kamsa, although determined to continue in enmity toward the Supreme Personality of Godhead, refrained from the vicious killing of his sister. He decided to wait until the Lord was born and then do what was needed. While sitting on his throne or in his sitting room, while lying on his bed, or, indeed, while situated anywhere, and while eating, sleeping or walking, Kamsa saw only his enemy, the Supreme Lord, Hrsīkeśa. In other words, by thinking of his all-pervading enemy, Kamsa became unfavorably Krishna conscious.

-SrimadBahgavatum 10.1.29 - 10.2.41

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The Branch

In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning. 693

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways and if you will perform My service, then you will also govern My house and also have charge of My courts, and I will grant you free access among these who are standing here. ‘Now listen, Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol, for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch. ‘For behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave an inscription on it,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. ‘In that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘every one of you will invite his neighbour to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.’ “ 694

693 Isaiah 4:2-4

694 Zechariah 3:7-10

The Seeds

In this prophecy we see The-Seed choose his bride, the one he would become one with

Judaism

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet, Until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, And her salvation like a torch that is burning. The nations will see your righteousness, And all kings your glory; And you will be called by a new name Which the mouth of the Lord will designate. You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, “Forsaken,” Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “Desolate”; But you will be called, “My delight is in her,” And your land, “Married”; For the Lord delights in you, And to Him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, So your sons will marry you; And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So your God will rejoice over you.

-Isaiah 62:1-5

In these stories we see humanity, the Daughter, choose to leave the serpent and join with The-Seed of The-Man. We also see The-Woman encouraging this union.

Maori of New Zealand

Hina was originally the wife of the Monster Eel, Te Tuna, and the two lived together in their land beneath the sea until a day when Hina thought she had been there long enough. The place was intensely cold; and besides, she wanted now to be rid of Te Tuna. So she said to him: “You just stay here at home! I am going off to forage for us both.” “And when shall you return?” he asked. She answered: “I shall be gone for quite a while; because today and tonight will be spent travelling, tomorrow looking for food, and the next day and night cooking the food; but the following day and night will see me on the way home.” “Then go,” he told her, “and stay away as long as necessary.” So she set out on her journey. And she never paused to look for food, but went on to forage for a new lover. After being rejected by three clans, for they knew she was the wife of Te Tuna she came to the land of the Wonder-worker (Maui) Clan. She approached the home of Maui’s mother, Hua-hega. When Hua-hega saw Hina approaching, she said to her son, Maui: “Take that woman for yourself!” And so Maui-tikitiki-a-Ataraga (Wonder-worker, the Tumid, begotten of Ascending Shadow) took Hina to wife; and they all lived in that place together. 697

-697 Joseph Campbell. Primal Mythology. pp. 191-195.

Aino

Now the village chief was a man who had two children, a boy and a girl. After a time, only those two children remained alive. Now the girl was the older of the two, and the boy was the younger. The girl spoke thus: “As for me, it does not matter even if I do die, since I am a girl. But you, being a boy, can, if you like, take up our father’s inheritance. So you should take these things with you, use them to buy food with, eat it, and live.” So spoke the girl, and took out a bag made of cloth, and gave it to him. Then the boy went out on to the sand, and walked along the seashore. When he had walked on the sand for a long time, he saw a pretty little home a short way inland. Near it was lying the carcase of a large whale. The boy went to the house, and after a time entered it. On looking around, he saw a man of divine appearance. The man’s wife, too, looked like a goddess, and was dressed altogether in black raiment. The man was dressed altogether in speckled raiment. The boy went in, and stood by the door. The man said to him: “Welcome to you, whencesoever you may have come,” Afterwards a lot of the whale’s flesh was boiled, and the boy was feasted on it. But the woman never looked towards him. Then the boy went out and fetched his parcel, which he had left outside. He brought in the bag made of cloth which had been given to him by his sister, and opened its mouth. On taking out and looking at the things inside it, they were found to be very precious treasures. “I will give you these treasures in payment for the food,” said the boy, and gave them to that divine-looking man-of-the-house. The god, having looked at them, said: “They are very beautiful treasures.” He said again: “You need not have paid me for the food. But I will take these treasures of yours, carry them to my [other] house, and bring you my own treasures in exchange for them. As for this whale’s flesh, you can eat as much of it as you like, witnout payment.” Having said this, he went off with the lad’s treasures. Then the lad and the woman remained together. After a time the woman turned to the lad, and said: “You lad! listen to me when I speak. I am the bear-goddess. This husband of mine is the dragon-god. There is no one so jealous as he is. Therefore did I not look towards you, because I knew that he would be jealous if I looked towards you. Those treasures of yours are treasures which even the gods do not possess. It is because he is delighted to get them that he has taken them with him to counterfeit them and bring you mock treasures. So when he shall have brought those treasures and shall display them, you must speak thus: ‘We need not exchange treasures. I wish to buy the woman!’ If you speak thus, he will go angrily away, because he is such a jealous man. Then afterwards we can marry each other, which will be very pleasant. That is how you must speak.” That was what the woman said. Then, after a certain time, the man of divine appearance came back grinning. He came bringing two sets of treasures, the treasures which were treasures and his own other treasures. The god spoke thus: “You, lad! As I have brought the treasures which are your treasures, it will be well to exchange them for my treasures.” The boy spoke thus: “Though I should like to have treasures also, I want your wife even more than I want the treasures; so please give me your wife instead of the treasures.” Thus spoke the lad. He had no sooner uttered the words than he was stunned by a clap of thunder above the house. On looking around him, the house was gone, and only he and the goddess were left together. He came to his senses. The treasures were there also. Then the woman spoke thus: “What has happened is that my dragon-husband has gone away in a rage, and has therefore made this noise, because you and I wish to be together. Now we can live together.” Thus spoke the goddess. Afterwards they lived together.—(Translated literally. Told by Ishanashte, 9th November, 1886.)

-Basil Chamberlain. pp 12-14.