canto1 eng

7/29/2019 Canto1 Eng

1/47

Ka Dvaipyana Vysadeva

RMAD BHGAVATAM(Bhgavata Purna)

The Story of the Fortunate One

Canto 1Translated by Anand Aadhar

Third revised edition 2012


2/47

CANTO 1: Creation

Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 Questions by the Sages ---------------------------------------------------------------------

2 Divinity and Divine Service ---------------------------------------------------------------

3 Ka is the Source of all Incarnations ---------------------------------------------------4 The Appearance ofrNrada -------------------------------------------------------------5 Nrada's Instructions on rmad Bhgavatam for Vysadeva -------------------------6 The Conversation between Nrada and Vysadeva -------------------------------------7 The Son of Drona Punished ----------------------------------------------------------------

8 Parkit Saved and Prayers by Queen Kunt---------------------------------------------9 The Passing Away of Bhmadeva in the Presence of Lord Ka --------------------10 The Departure of Lord Ka for Dvrak ----------------------------------------------11 Lord rKa's Entrance into Dvrak -------------------------------------------------12 The Birth of Emperor Parkit ------------------------------------------------------------13 Dhtarra Quits Home -------------------------------------------------------------------14 The Disappearance of Lord Ka -------------------------------------------------------15 The Pavas Retire -----------------------------------------------------------------------16 How Parkit Received the Age of Kali -------------------------------------------------17 Punishment and Reward of Kali ---------------------------------------------------------

18 Mahrja Parkit Cursed by a Brahmin Boy ------------------------------------------19 The Appearance ofukadeva Gosvm-------------------------------------------------

34

5

7

911

13

15

18

21

23

25

27

29

32

34

38

40

42

45

2 rmad Bhgavatam - The Story of the Fortunate One


3/47

Introduction

This book depicts the story of the Lord and His

Incarnations since the earliest records of Vedichistory. It is verily the Ka Bible of the Hindu-universe. The Bhgavad Gt relates to this booklike the sermon on the mountain by Lord Jesus

relates to the full Bible. It has 18.000 verses and

consists of 12 books also called Cantos. These

books tell the complete history of the Vedic cul-

ture with the essence of all its classical stories

called Purnas and includes the cream of the Vedicknowledge compiled from all the literatures as

well as the story of the life of Lord Ka in full

(Canto 10). It tells about His birth, His youth, allHis wonderful proofs of His divine nature and His

superhuman feats of defeating all kinds of demons

up to the great Mahbhrat war at Kuruketra. It isa brilliant story that has been brought to the West

by Swami Bhaktivednta Prabhupda, a CaitanyaVaishnava, a bhakti (devotional) monk of Lord

Viu [the name for the transcendental form ofLord Ka] who undertook the daring task of en-lightening the materialist westerners as well as the

advanced philosophers and theologians, in order to

help them to overcome the perils and loneliness of

impersonalism and the philosophy of emptiness.

For the translation the author of this internet-

version has consulted the translations of C.L Gos-

wami. M.A., Sstr (from the Gt Press, Go-rakhpur) and the later version of this book by

Swami Prabhupda. The latter translator as ancrya [guru teaching by example] from the age-old indian Vaishnava tradition represents the ref-

ormation of the devotion for God the way it has

been practiced in India since the 16th century. This

reformation contends that the false authority of thecaste system and single dry book wisdom is to be

rejected. Lord Ka-Caitanya, the avatra [anincarnation of the Lord] who heralded this reform,

restored the original purpose of developing devo-

tion for God and endeavored especially for the

sacred scripture expounding on the devotion relat-

ing to Ka as the Supreme Personality of God-head. This scripture is this Bhgavata Purna from

which all the Vaishnava cryas derived theirwisdom for the purpose of instruction and the

shaping of their devotion. The word for word

translations as well as the full text and commentar-

ies of this book were studied within and without

the Hare Ka temples of learning in India,

Europe and America. The purpose of the transla-tion is first of all to make this glorious text avail-

able to a wider audience over the Internet. Since

the Bible, the Koran and numerous other holy

texts are readily available, the author meant that

this book could not stay behind on the shelf of his

own bookcase as a token of material possessive-

ness. Knowledge not shared is knowledge lost,

and certainly this type of knowledge which

stresses the yoga of non-possessiveness and devo-

tion as one of its main values could not be left out.

The version of Swami Prabhupda is very exten-sive covering some 2400 pages of plain fineprinted text including his commentaries. And that

were only the first ten Cantos. The remaining two

Cantos were posthumously published by his pupils

in the full of his spirit. I thus was faced with two

daring challenges: One was to make a readable

running narrative of the book - that had been dis-

sected to the single word - and second to put it

into a language that would befit the 21st century

with all its modern and postmodern experience

and digital progress to the world order without

losing anything of its original verses. Thus anotherverse to verse as-it-is translation came about in

which Prabupda's and Sstr's words werepruned, retranslated and set to the understanding

and realization of today. This realization in my

case originated directly from the disciplic line of

succession of the Vaishnava line of cryas(teachers) as well as from a realization of the total

field of Indian philosophy of enlightenment and

yoga discipline as was brought to the West by also

non-Vaishnava gurus and maintained by their pu-

pils. Therefore the author has to express his grati-tude to all these great heroes who dared to face the

adamantine of western philosophy with all its

doubts, concreticism and skepticism. Especially

the pupils of Prabhupda, members of the re-nounced order (sannyss) who instructed theauthor in the independence and maturity of the

philosophy of the bhakti-yogis of Lord Caitanya

need to be mentioned. I was already initiated in

Canto 1 3

\


4/47

India by a non-Vainava guru and have been giventhe name of Swami Anand Aadhar (teacher of the

foundation of happiness). That name the Kacommunity converted into Anand Aadhar Prabhu

(master of the foundation of happiness) without

further ceremonies of Vainava initiation (apart

from a basic training). With the name Anand Aad-har I am a withdrawn devotee, a so-called vna-

prata, who does his devotional service independ-ently in the silence and modesty of his local adap-

tations of the philosophy.

In most cases the word for word translations and

grammatical directions of Prabhupda/ISKCON(mainly taken from Sstr) have been followed asthey were used in his translations and I have

checked them with Sstr's original version and

with the Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary. Infootnotes and between square brackets [ ] some-

times a little comment and extra info is given to

accommodate the reader when the original text is

drawing from a more experienced approach. On

the internetsite bhagavata.org to this book the text

of Prabhupda is linked up at each verse togetherwith my own previous version so that it is possible

to retrace at any moment what I have done with

the text. This is in accordance with the scientific

tradition of the Vaishnava community.

For the copyright on this translation the so-calledCreative Commons Attribution-Non- commercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License copyright has

been chosen. This means that one is free to copy,

distribute and alter the text on the condition of

attribution (refer to name of Anand Aadhar and to

my website address bhagavata.org), that the result-

ing work can only be distributed under the same or

similar license to this one and that one cannot use

the text for commercial purposes. Please donate

and email me via my website.

With love and devotion, Anand Aadhar Prabhu,

Enschede, The Netherlands, August 2, 2012.

Chapter 1

Questions by the Sages

(1)Let there be the salutation of the original ap-pearance of Him, Vsudeva, the Fortunate One,from whom, being present here and in the beyond,

for the purpose of recollection and full independ-

ence, the Vedic knowledge was imparted in the

heart of the first created being [Lord Brahm].About Him the enlightened [as surely also the or-

dinary] souls are, like with a mirage of water to

the [fire of the] sun, in a state of illusion wherein,

through the action and reaction of the modes of

material nature, there is the [apparent] certainty of

the factual. I meditate upon Him who is always

self-sufficient, the transcendental [supreme and

absolute] truth and the negation free from illusion.

(2) In this book deceitful religiosity [of ulteriormotives] is rejected. One finds in it the highest that

can be comprehended by selfless, truth-loving


\


5/47

people. Herein that is offered what factually im-

plies the well-beingthat uproots the threefold mis-eries [as caused by oneself, others and by nature].

What would be the need of other stories when one

finds in this book the beautiful story of the Fortu-

nate One that was compiled by the great sage

[Vysadeva] which, with the help of the piousones who are diligently of service, forthwith estab-

lishes the Controller in the heart. (3) It is the rip-

ened fruit from the desire tree of the Vedic litera-

tures that flowing from the lips ofukadeva mani-fested as sweet nectar perfect in every way. Oh you

expert and thoughtful ones delighting in devotion,

ever relish the home of the rmad Bhgavatam!

(4) In the forest of Naimiraya, a spot favoredby Viu, sages headed by the sage aunaka per-

formed a thousand-year sacrifice for the Lord ofheaven and the devotees on earth. (5) One morn-

ing, burning the sacrificial fire, the sages asked

with due respect rla Sta Gosvm, who wasoffered a seat of honor, the following: (6) "You,

free from all vice as you are and familiar with

the stories and historical records, are said to be

well versed in the religious scriptures that you

explained as well. (7) As the eldest of the schol-

ars of the Vedas you know Vysadeva, the Lordamong them - and Sta, you know as well theother ones well versed in physical and meta-

physical knowledge. (8) Please your honor tell

us therefore, because you are well-informed,

pure and simple by their grace, about the secrets

you as a submissive disciple have learned from

those spiritual masters. (9) Being blessed there-

fore with a long life, please tell us in simple

terms from your heart of goodness what you

could ascertain to be the absolute and ultimate

good that all people deserve. (10) In general, oh

honorable one, the people in this age of Kali are

lazy, misguided, unlucky and above all dis-

turbed. (11) There are many scriptures with asmany prescribed duties that each separately de-

mand attention. Therefore oh sage, tell us for

the good of all living beings what, to the best of

your knowledge, would be the essence that sat-

isfies the soul. (12) You are blessed Sta be-cause you know the purpose for which the Su-

preme One, the protector of the devotees, ap-

peared in the womb of Devak as the son of

Vasudeva. (13) Please Sta you should, accord-ing to the tradition, tell us who are aching for it

about His incarnation for the good and uplift-

ment of all living beings. (14) Entangled in the

complications of birth and death we will find lib-

eration even if we are not fully aware engaged in

respecting the name of the Lord who is feared byfear itself. (15) Oh Sta, those who have takenshelter of the lotus feet of the great sages who are

absorbed in devotion immediately find purification

by simply associating with them, whereas such

purification with the water of the Ganges is only

achieved when one cultivates it. (16) Is there any-

one eager for liberation who wouldn't rather want

to hear about the Lord His worshipable, virtuous

deeds and glories as the sanctifier for the Age of

Quarrel [Kali]? (17) He is hailed by the great souls

for His transcendental glories. Please tell us, eagerbelievers, about the pastimes of His descend in

time. (18) Describe for that reason to us, oh saga-

cious one, the auspicious adventures and pastimes

of the multiple incarnations of the Supreme Con-

troller His personal energies. (19) We who know

to appreciate the taste are never tired of continu-

ally praying and hearing about the adventures of

The One Glorified that delight us time and again.

(20) In the guise of a human being He with

Balarma [His elder brother] was of a superhumanperformance. (21) Knowing of the onset of the

Age of Kali, we for a longer period have assem-bled to sacrifice here at this place reserved for the

devotees and take time to listen to the stories

about the Lord. (22) We by providence have met

your goodness who can help us as a captain on a

ship through this insurmountable age of Kali that

constitutes such a threat to one's good qualities.

(23) Please tell us to whom we should turn to to

take shelter now the Lord of Yoga, rKa, whois the Absolute Truth and the protector of the relig-

ion, has left for His abode."

Chapter 2

Divinity and Divine Service

(1)Completely satisfied with the correct questionsof the sages there, the son of Romaharana [Sta]tried to reply after thanking them for their words.

Canto 1 5

\


6/47

(2) Sta said: "He [ukadeva] who went away tolive with the renounced order without the pre-

scribed ceremony of reform of the sacred thread,

made Vysadeva, being afraid of the separationexclaim: 'Oh my son!', and all the trees and all

living beings responded sympathizing in the

heart of the sage. (3) Let me offer my obeisancesto him who, from his experience of life, as the

only transcendental torchlight in desiring to

overcome the darkness of material existence of

materialistic men, assimilated the cream of the

Vedas and out of his causeless mercy conveyed

the very confidential holy story as the master of

the great sages. (4) After offering first one's obei-

sances to Nara-Nryaa, the [Lord as the] su-permost human being, the goddess of learning

and Vysadeva, let then all be announced that isneeded for the conquering.

(5) Oh sages, your questions about Lord Ka areof relevance for the welfare of the world because

they satisfy the true self. (6) That duty no doubt is

for mankind the highest, of which there is the

causeless, uninterrupted devotional service unto

Ka as the One in the Beyond [Viu] that leadsto the full satisfaction of the soul. (7) The practice

of connecting oneself in devotion unto Vsudeva,

the Personality of Godhead, very soon leads to the

detachment and spiritual knowledge that relies on

its own power. (8) What people do according to

their societal positions, is useless labor leading

nowhere, if it does not lead to the message of

Vivaksena [Ka as the Supreme Commander].

(9) One's occupational activities are certainlymeant for ultimate liberation and not for the end of

material gain, neither is, according to the sages,

the material progress of the dutiful ones in devo-

tional service meant for the attainment of sense-

gratification. (10) One's longing is not so much

there for sense-gratification, profit and self-

preservation, instead one's karma is there for no

other purpose than inquiring after the Absolute

Truth. (11) The learned souls say that the reality of

nondual knowledge is known as Brahman,

Paramtm, and Bhagavn [the impersonal, local-ized and personal aspect]. (12) The sages whowith the good of knowledge and detachment are of

serious inquisition, will see within themselves and

the Supersoul in devotional service, exactly that,

what they have heard from the Vedas. (13) So by

the human being, oh best of the twice-born, the

highest perfection of occupational duties accord-

ing to the divisions of status and vocation is

achieved in the pleasing of the Lord. (14) There-

fore one should with a one-pointed mind con-

stantly hear about, glorify, remember and worship

the Supreme Lord, the protector of the devotees.(15) Who would not attend to this message of in-

telligently remembering the Lord which gives one

the sword for cutting through the bonds of materi-

ally motivated labor [karma]? (16) One who lis-

tens with care and attention in respect of

Vsudeva, will find affinity with the messagethrough the devotional service rendered to pure

devotees, oh learned ones, and be purified from all

vice. (17) Those who developed this hearing of

Ka His own words will find virtue listening and

singing and will certainly in their hearts see theirdesire to enjoy purified by the benefactor of the

truthful. (18) By regular attention to that fortune

[of the book and the devotee] as good as all the

inauspicious will lose its hold, and thus serving

the Supreme Lord with transcendental prayers ir-

revocably loving service will come into being.

(19) At that time the consciousness not being

spoiled by the effects of passion and ignorance


\


7/47

such as lust, greed and whatever else, will be fixed

in goodness and find happiness. (20) The mind, in

contact with the devotional service of the Lord

thus cleared, becomes, liberated because of the

association, then effective in the knowledge of

wisdom regarding the Fortunate One. (21) Seeing

the [true] self that way as being the master for surewill cut the knots in the heart to pieces, put an end

to all doubts and terminate the chain of materially

motivated actions [karma]. (22) Therefore all tran-

scendentalists have always delighted in the service

of Lord Ka - it enlivens the soul. (23) The ul-timate benefit of the Transcendental Personality,

that is associated with the material qualities of

nature of goodness, passion and ignorance and

with the maintainer Viu, the creator Brahm andthe destroyer iva, is of course for the human be-

ing found in the form of the quality of goodness[Viu]. (24) The way we have the firewood fromsacrifices stemming from the earth producing

smoke set afire, so we also have passion stemming

from ignorance leading to the goodness from

which the essential nature is realized.

(25) Whoever follows these sages who previously

this way rendered service to the transcendental

Lord above these three modes of nature, deserves

the same benefit. (26) For that reason they who

desire liberation reject the less attractive forms of

the demigods, and are sure to worship, without

any envy, the many forms of the all-blissfull Lord

Viu [Nryaa]. (27) Those who are ignorantand of passion, desire wealth, power and progeny,

clinging to forefathers and other beings of cosmic

control with a likewise character. (28-29) But

Vsudeva is the object of knowledge, the purposeof the sacrifices and the yoga, the controller of

all material activity, and the supreme knowledge,

austerity, quality, religion and goal of life. (30)

From the beginning of the manifestation He, by

His internal potency, has been the cause and effect of all forms and the transcendental Absolute

of the modes of nature. (31) Although He, mani-

festing by the modes, having entered them, ap-

pears to be affected by the modes, He is the full

manifestation of all wisdom. (32) He, as the Su-

persoul, pervades all living beings as the source of

creation like fire does in wood and shines forth as

different living entities, at the same time being the

Absolute Person. (33) That Supersoul, created the

subtle senses influenced by the modes of nature by

entering the living beings in His own creation,

causing them to enjoy those modes. (34) Thus He

maintains all in the mode of goodness, being in-

carnated Himself in the performance of His pas-

times mastering all worlds of divine, human andanimalistic beings."

Chapter 3

Ka is the Source of All Incarnations

(1) Sta said: "In the beginning the Supreme Lordassumed, for the creation of the worlds, the form

of the Original Person[: the integrity of the mate-

rial realm] composed of the sixteen elements [ofthe ten knowing and working senses, the mind and

the five elements] and the cosmic intelligence and

such. (2) Resting in His meditative slumber in that

water, out of the lotus that spread from the lake of

His navel, Brahm was manifested, the master ofthe progenitors in the universe. (3) One believes

the different worlds [as expansions] to be part of

the form of the Fortunate One that constitutes the

excellence of the purest existence. (4) His form

thus seen perfectly has numerous legs, thighs,

arms and faces, with wonderful heads, ears, eyesand noses, all glowing with garlands and dresses.

(5) This source of the multifarious incarnations is

the imperishable seed from which the plenary por-

tions and portions thereof, the gods, the human

beings and the animals, originate."

(6) "The sons of Brahm [the Kumras] were firstdisciplined in austerity for the sake of realizing

continuity. (7) He next incarnated for the sake of

the welfare of the earth like a boar lifting her up

from the lower regions. (8) Thirdly He accepted[in the form of Nrada Muni] His presence amongthe learned for the sake of evolving Vedic knowl-

edge concerning the service in devotion without

further material motives. (9) Fourth born as the

twin sons of king Dharma in the form of Nara-

Nryaa He underwent severe penances to attaincontrol over the senses. (10) Fifth with the name

of Kapila He gave an exposition to the brahmin

Canto 1 7

\


8/47

suri on the nature of metaphysics and the ele-ments of creation because in the course of time the

knowledge was lost. (11) Sixth, born as the son of

Atri from Anasy who prayed for Him, He lec-tured to Alarka, Prahlda and others about tran-scendence. (12) Seventh born from kti as Yaja,

the son of Prajpati Ruci He, assisted the godly,with His son Yama ruled during the period of

Svyambhuva Manu. (13) Eighth, from the wife ofKing Nbhi, Merudev, He took birth as Kingabha and showed the path of perfection re-spected by people of all stages of life. (14) Accept-

ing His ninth incarnation in response to the

prayers of the sages, He ruled [as Pthu] the earthfor the sake of its cultivation and produces, which

made her beautifully attractive. (15) Like a fish

[Mtsya] in the water He kept Vaivasvata Manu

after the period of Ckua Manu protected in aboat afloat the waters when the world was deeplyinundated. (16) Eleventh as a tortoise [Kurma] He

sustained the Mandarcala Hill of the theists andatheists that served as a pivot in the ocean. (17)

Twelfth there was Dhanvantari [Lord of medicine]

and thirteenth He appeared as an alluring beautiful

woman to the atheists when He gave nectar to the

godly. (18) In His fourteenth incarnation He ap-

peared as Nsimha, who with His nails half as aLion on His lap tore apart the king of the atheists

like a carpenter splitting cane. (19) Fifteenth He

assumed the form of Vmana [the dwarf-brhmana] who went to the arena of sacrifice of

Mahrja Bali and begged for three steps of landonly, while He in fact wanted to seize the three

worlds. (20) In His sixteenth incarnation [as

Bhgupati or Paraurma] He acted twenty-onetimes against the ruling class that negated the in-

telligentsia. (21) Seeing the common people as

being less intelligent He seventeenth incarnated as

Vysadeva taking birth from Satyavat withParara Muni as His father, in order to divide thedesire tree of the Veda into several branches. (22)

Next He performed in a superhuman way in con-

trolling the Indian Ocean having assumed the formof a divine human being [Rma] in order to act forthe sake of the godly. (23) Nineteenth as well as

twentieth He appeared as Balarma and Kafrom the Vrini family and thus Bhagavn re-moved the burden from the world. (24) Thereafter

in the Age of Kali His birth as Lord Buddha from

Ajan in Gay will take place in order to deludethe ones envious of the theists. (25) Next, at the

conjunction of two yugas when there is hardly a

ruler to be found who is not a plunderer, the Lord

carrying the name of Kalki will take birth as the

son of Viu Ya."

(26) "Ohtwice-born ones, the incarnations of the

Lord that appeared from the ocean of goodness are

as innumerable as the thousands of streams found

from the lakes. (27) All the powerful sages, the

godly, the Manus and their progeny, as well as the

Prajpatis [founding fathers] are aspects of theLord. (28) All these are part of Lord Ka, theSupreme Lord [Bhagavn] in person who offersprotection during all ages and in all worlds against

the enemies of the king of heaven [Indra]. (29)Those who in the morning and the evening care-

fully recite these mysterious births of the Lord,

will find relief from all miseries of life. (30) All

these forms of the Lord stem undoubtedly from

the One who is without a form and transcendental;

they came about in the self from the modes of ma-

terial energy with their elements. (31) To the less

intelligent spectator they are there to be perceived


\


9/47

the way one sees clouds in the sky and dust in the

air. (32) This unmanifested self in the beyond that

cannot be seen or heard, has no form that is af-

fected by the modes of nature - tht is the living

being that takes birth repeatedly. (33) As soon as

one realizes that all these gross and subtle forms

originate in the self because of ignorance, theylose their value and so one achieves association

with the divine. (34) With the illusory energy sub-

sided one is enriched with the full knowledge of

enlightenment and can thus being established see

the glories of the Self. (35) Thus the inactive un-

born Lord of the Heart with His births and activi-

ties has been described by the learned as being

undetectable even in the Vedas. (36) Residing

within every living being He, the omnipotent mas-

ter of the senses whose play is spotless, is inde-

pendent and unaffected by creation, destructionand maintenance. (37) Because of His manipula-

tions He, acting like an actor in a drama, by the

ones with a poor fund of knowledge cannot be

known in His activities, names and forms by

means of speculation and oration. (38) Only he

who renders unconditional, uninterrupted, favor-

able service to His fragrant lotus feet may know

the transcendental glories of the all-powerful

Creator with the wheel of the chariot in His hand.

(39) In this world one can be successful if one

knows everything about the Personality of God-

head who embraces all of His universes and whoinspires for the complete of the spirit of ecstasy in

which one will never find the dreaded vicious cir-

cles of worldly interest."

(40) "This book containing the story of the Per-

sonality of Godhead and His devotees was com-

piled by the wise man of God and is, as a supple-

ment to the Vedas, there for the ultimate good of

bringing success, happiness and perfection to all

people. (41) rla Vysadeva delivered this story,

which constitutes the cream he managed to extractfrom all the Vedic literatures and histories, to his

son who is the most respectable one among the

self-realized. (42) He [S'uka] on his turn told it to

emperor Parkit who surrounded by the wise satdown at the Ganges to fast until his death. (43)

Now that Ka has left for His abode and withHim also proper conduct and spiritual insight have

vanished, this Purna bright as the sun has ap-

peared at the horizon for the sake of everyone who

in the Age of Quarrel [Kali-yuga] has lost his vi-

sion. (44) When I heard the story from that power-

ful, great sage, I, being perfectly attentive by his

mercy, managed to understand it as well, so that I

am now able to relate it to you from my own reali-

zation."

Chapter 4

The Appearance ofrNrada

(1) The elderly and learned aunaka, the head ofthe long-standing ceremony the sages were gath-

ered for, congratulated Sta Gosvm thankinghim thus: (2) "O most fortunate one of those who

are respected to speak, please tell us about themessage of the Bhgavatam the way it was dis-cussed by ukadeva Gosvm. (3) When, where,on what ground and wherefrom inspired could this

literature be compiled by Vysadeva? (4) His son,who being equipoised and unwavering always had

his mind fixed on the One, was a great devotee

and an awakened soul, but unexposed he appeared

ignorant. (5) Naked bathing beauties covered their

bodies out of shyness when they once saw sage

Vysa following his son, whereas they astonish-ingly by him being asked about his son replied

that they didn't feel ashamed before him becausehe looked at them purely without any sexual dis-

crimination. (6) How was he [uka], appearinglike a retarded dumb madman as he wandered

through the Kuru-jngala provinces, recognized bythe inhabitants of Hastinpura [now: Delhi] themoment he reached the city? (7) How could the

discussion, oh dear soul, between the saint and the

descendant of Pu, the wise king, take placecovering this Vedic truth about Ka? (8) He, as apilgrim sanctifying the places he visits, stayed at

the door of the householders only for as long as ittakes to milk a cow. (9) Please tell us about

Parkit, the son of Abhimanyu, who is said to be afirst-class devotee whose birth and activities are

all wonderful. (10) What was the reason that the

emperor, who enriched the name of Pu, ne-glected the opulences of his kingdom and sat

down to do penance at the Ganges until his death?

(11) Oh why did he, at whose feet all enemies sur-

Canto 1 9

\


10/47

rendered their wealth for their own sake, in the full

of his youth give up his so difficult to relinquish

life of royal riches? (12) Men of devotion for the

One Hailed in the Verses, live for the welfare, the

affluence and prosperity of all living beings and

not for any selfish purpose; for what reason gave

he, freed from all attachment, up his mortal bodythat was the shelter for others? (13) Clearly ex-

plain to us all we have asked you by this, for we

consider you fully acquainted with all the mean-

ings of the words in the scriptures, except for

those of the Vedic hymns."

(14)Sta Gosvmsaid: "When the second era raninto the third and thus ended, the sage [Vysa] wasborn as the son of Parara from the womb of the

daughter of Vasu. He was a partial expansion ofthe Lord. (15) One morning when the sun globe

rose above the horizon he, after being cleansed by

the water of his morning duties, sat down at the

bank of the river Sarasvatto focus his mind. (16)The i knowing the past and the future, saw thatgradually irregularities were developing in the

dharma of his time. It was something that can be

observed more often in the different eras on earth

as a consequence of unseen, irresistible forces.

(17-18) The sage contemplating with his transcen-

dental vision the welfare of all vocations and stages

in life, saw from his elevated position how with the

dullness and impatience of the faithless the people

lacked in goodness, that the natural capacity of all

types of men as well as of other creatures was de-clining and that the common man was unlucky and

short-lived. (19) According to the insight that there

were four sacrificial fires for purifying the work

effort of the people, he divided the one original

Veda into four divisions of sacrificial activities. (20)

Rig, Yajuh, Sma and Atharva were the names ofthese four Vedas while the Itihsas [the single histo-ries] and the Purnas [the collections of histories]were called the fifth Veda. (21) Thereafter the Rig

Veda was propagated by thei Paila, the Sma

Veda by the learned Jaimini, while Vaiampyanawas the only one versed enough to qualify for thedefense of the Yajur Veda. (22) The serious respect

for the Atharva Veda was heartened by Angir -also called Sumantu Muni - while the Itihsas andthe Purnas were defended by my father Roma-harana. (23) All these scholars on their turn dis-tributed the knowledge entrusted to them to their

disciples who did the same with their following

who did so with their pupils, and thus the different

branches of followers of the Vedas came about. (24)

In order to assure that the Veda would be assimi-

lated as much by the less intellectual people, thegreat sage Vysa, the Lord in these matters, tookcare to edit it for the ignorant ones. (25) Motivated

this way to serve the welfare of women [see 6.9: 6

& 9], the more foolish working class, and the

friends of the twice-born who themselves do not

work for understanding, the sage was as merciful to

their benefit to take down the story of the

Mahbhrata.

(26) Oh dear twice-born ones, by no means he,

who was always working for the welfare of allliving beings, could then be content with that. (27)

Being purified in seclusion at the bank of the

Sarasvat he, knowing what religion means, thussaid from the dissatisfaction of his heart to him-

self: (28-29) 'With strict discipline I sincerely was

of proper worship in my according to the tradition

of the Vedic hymns doing the sacrifices in respect

of the masters. Even for women, the working class


\


11/47

and others I, by compiling the Mahbhrata, haveproperly explained what according to the disciplic

succession should be stated about the path of relig-

ion. (30) Despite of answering, so it appears, suf-

ficiently to the demands of the vedantists in my

discussing the Supreme Soul as situated in the

body and even my own self, I feel something ismissing. (31) I might not have given sufficient

directions about the devotional service that is so

dear to the perfect as well as to the Infallible One.'

(32)While Ka Dvaipyana Vysa thus regret-fully thought about his shortcomings, Nrada, as Istated before, reached his cottage. (33) Seeing

what fortune that was, he quickly got up to honor

him with a respect equal to the respect the godly

pay to Brahmj, the creator."

Chapter 5

Nrada's Instructions on rmadBhgavatam for Vysadeva

(1) Sta said: "Then comfortably seated next tohim, the i of God of great renown who has avn in his hands outwardly with a smile ad-dressed the learned wise. (2) He said: 'Oh greatly

fortunate son of Parara, can you in the self-realization of your soul find the satisfaction of the

body and the mind? (3) You have done your full

enquiries and being well versed, you have pre-

pared the great and wonderful Mahbhrata towhich you have added your extensive explana-

tions. (4) In spite of the full of your deliberations

about the Absolute and Eternal you are, dear mas-

ter, lamenting that you would not have done

enough for the purpose of the soul.'

(5) Vysa said: 'All you have said is certainly true,but my soul has found no peace with it. What isthe root I have missed, I ask you who originated

from the soul as a man of unlimited knowledge.

(6) You have the all-inclusive knowledge as a

confidential devotee of the Supreme Personality,

Canto 1 11

\


12/47

who is the Original Controller of the material and

spiritual worlds and in whose mind only, from the

transcendence above the modes of material nature,

the universe is created and destroyed. (7) In your

goodness you travel the three worlds as the selfre-

alized witness penetrating the heart of everyone

like the all-pervading ether. Please point out whatmy deficiency is in my being absorbed in the Ab-

solute with discipline and vow concerning matters

of cause and effect.'

(8) rNrada said: 'You hardly praised the gloriesof the Fortunate One who is spotless and who, I

gather, is not really pleased by that lesser vision.

(9) Although you, great sage, repeatedly were

writing for the sake of the four principles of relig-

ion [dharma, artha, kma, moka or righteousness,

economy, sense gratification and liberation], youhave not been doing so for the sake of Vsudeva.(10) Only sparsely using the words describing the

glories of the Lord who sanctifies the universe, is

something the saintly think of as pilgrimaging to a

place for crows; not as something where the per-

fect ones of the transcendental take pleasure in.

(11) That creation of words revolutionizing the

sins of the people in which, although imperfectly

composed, each verse depicts the names and glories

of the unlimited Lord, is heard, sung and accepted

by the purified and honest ones. (12) In spite of

self-realization free from material motives, thetranscendental knowledge of the infallible does

not look good when one gives up on personal

names. What good will it bring to work time and

again troublesome for a result when one misses

the Lord with it? That leads nowhere! (13) There-

fore you as a highly fortunate, spotless and fa-

mous perfect seer dedicated to the truth and fixed

in the qualities, for the sake of liberation from

universal bondage from your trance should think

about and describe Him whose actions are super-

natural.

(14) Whatever you want to describe that is of a

vision separate from Him, will only lead to

names and forms that agitate the mind like a boat

that is taken by the wind from its place. (15) For

the matter of religion you have instructed the

people according to their natural inclinations [to

kill animals for their food e.g.], which is in truth

something reprehensible and quite unreasonable.

The people fixed on such instructions for good

conduct will not think of the prohibitions. (16)

For understanding the unlimited Lord they qual-

ify who are expert in withdrawing from material

enjoyment, and therefore you must from your

goodness show the ways and activities of theLord to those who bound to the modes miss the

spiritual knowledge.

(17) Inexperienced in devotional service at the

lotus feet one may fall down in that position when

one forsakes one's own, true nature. But what in-

auspiciousness wouldn't befall the non-devotee

who, engaged in his occupational duties, doesn't

reach to that what is His interest? (18) The philo-

sophically inclined should for that reason en-

deavor only for that which is not so much found

wandering from high to low. In the course of time,

the time that is so impetuous and subtle, one will

automatically everywhere find the enjoyment - as

good as the miseries - as a result of one's work.

(19) Failing for some or another reason the devo-

tee has a different experience as others have: once

he in his material life has the taste he, remember-

ing the feet of the Lord of Liberation he embraced,

will never want to give it up. (20) From the good-

ness of your self you know that all of this cosmos

is the Lord Himself, even though He differs from

it. He constitutes the beginning and the end ofcreation; I am only summarizing it for you. (21)

Please give a true-to-life description of the pas-

times of the Supreme Lord. For you from the per-

fect vision of your own soul are able to discover

what the transcendence of the Personality of the

Supersoul would be, of which you are a full aspect

because you took birth for the sake of the well-

being of the entire world. (22) The acknowledged

scholars all agree that the unmistakable purpose of

each and everyone's austerities, study, sacrifice,

attending lectures, fostering intelligence and char-ity consists of attaining to the descriptions of the

transcendental qualities of the Lord glorified in the

verses.

(23)Oh sage, in the previous millennium I tookbirth from a maidservant of certain followers of

this conclusion [the Vednta]. I, only a boy, wasengaged in their service when I lived together with


\


13/47

them during the months of the rainy season. (24)

These followers of wisdom were unto me, an obe-

dient, well-mannered, self-controlled and silent

boy without much interest in games and sport,

specially merciful, despite of their impartiality

towards believers. (25) When the twice-born, dur-

ing that period, once allowed me to enjoy the rem-nants of their food, I, by that action, was freed

from all my sins and thus the attraction to that

dharma manifested itself in me being engaged

with purity. (26) Thereafter I heard the descrip-

tions of the life of Ka every day. Because oftheir respect for me, dear Vysa, I managed to payclose attention and thus develop my taste with

every step I took. (27) Oh great sage, as I acquired

the taste, I found continuity with the Lord and thus

I realized that one accepts all the gross and subtle

of life because of one's ignorance concerning theSupreme of transcendence. (28) Thus for the time

of two seasons, autumn and the rainy season, con-

stantly hearing nothing but the glories that were

chanted by the sages, my devotional service be-

cause of those great souls began to flow while the

[influence of] the modes of passion and ignorance

receded. (29) As an obedient boy free from sins I,

because of those believers being attached to that

what is His, thus in my strictly following managed

to subjugate [my senses]. (30) When these devo-tees so full of care for the meek left, they were as

merciful to instruct me in this most confidentialknowledge which is directly propounded by the

Lord Himself. (31) Thus I could easily grasp what

the influence is of the deluding material energy of

the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vsudeva,the supreme creator, and how one can reach the

refuge He is.

(32) Oh learned one, it is said that to dedicate

one's actions to the Supreme Lord is the remedy

for the threefold misery of life. (33) Oh good soul,

is it not so that the cure for a disease is found in[counteracting] that what caused it? (34) The

same way also all dealings of man directed at a

material[istic] existence will put an end to that

self[hood] when one succeeds in dedicating them

to the Transcendence. (35) Whatever one does in

this world to please the Lord and what thereto is

done in one's dependence on knowledge is bhakti

yoga [yoga of devotion]. (36) When one mindful

of the will of the Fortunate One performs one's

duties, the mind constantly takes to the names and

qualities of r Ka. (37) So, let us meditateupon the name and glory of Vsudeva and Hisfull expansions Pradyumna, Aniruddha and

Sankarana. (38) That person who in this way

worships the Lord who has no material form withthe help of the sound-form [of these names] rep-

resenting Him, is, in his worship of [Lord Viu]the Original Person of Sacrifice, of a perfect vi-

sion. (39) While I in this way was engaged, oh

learned one, knowing well the confidential part

of the Vedic knowledge, the knowledge of His

transcendental opulences was bestowed upon me

and was also an intimate personal love for Lord

Ka [Keava] installed. (40) You, dear goodsoul with your vast Vedic knowledge, also dilate

on the Almighty One of whom the wise alwayshave found satisfaction in learning about the

transcendental cause. Please describe His activi-

ties for the mitigation of the suffering of the

masses of common people for whom there is no

other way of relief.' "

Chapter 6The Conversation Between Nrada andVysadeva

(1) Sta said: "Thus hearing from the great sageamong the gods about his birth and exploits, sage

Vysadeva, the son of Satyavat, asked him: (2)'What did you, before your present life began, do

after the great devotees had departed who in-

structed you in transcendental wisdom? (3) How

were the conditions of the life you spent after this

initiation and how have you, in the long run, at-

tained to this body? (4) How could you, oh great

sage, remember all of this from a previous era in

any detail, isn't it so that time in due course anni-

hilates all?'

(5)rNrada said: 'The great sages in my previ-ous life gave me the transcendental knowledge I

have at present and after they had departed the

following took place. (6) I was the only son of my

mother who was a simple woman working as a

Canto 1 13

\


14/47

maidservant. I, as her offspring, was completely

determined by the emotional bond I had with her

and had no one else to protect me. (7) Althoughshe wanted to take care of me properly, she, being

dependent like a puppet on a string, couldn't do so.

(8) I, being only five years old, attended the school

of the brahmins and lived, depending on her,

without having a clue about the time, the direction

and country in which we were living. (9) When

she once went out at night to milk a cow, she was

bitten in the leg by a snake on the path and thus

fell victim of the supreme time. (10) I took it as a

benediction of the Lord who always wishes the

best for His devotees, and with that in mind I

headed for the north. (11) There I found many

flourishing big and small towns and villages with

farms, mineral and agricultural fields in valleys

with flower and vegetable gardens and forests.(12) I saw hills and mountains full of gold, silver

and copper and elephants pulling branches from

the trees nearby delightful lakes and ponds full of

the lotus flowers aspired by the denizens of heaven

- and my heart was pleased with the birds and the

number of bees hovering about. (13) I passed

through thickets of bamboo, sharp grass and

weeds and through caves which were difficult to

pass alone, and I reached deep and dangerous for-

ests that were the playground of snakes, owls and

jackals. (14) Being physically and mentally tired,

I, hungry and thirsty, took a bath and drank from

the water of a lake from a river in which I found

relief from my fatigue. (15) In that uninhabited

forest I sat down under a banyan tree to meditate,

intelligently taking shelter of the Supersoul situ-

ated within the way I had learned it from the liber-

ated souls. (16) Thus meditating on the lotus feet

of the Supreme Personality, all of my thinking,

feeling and willing transformed into transcenden-

tal love. I was that eager that tears rolled from my

eyes when I saw the Lord appear in my heart

without delay. (17) Fully overwhelmed by an ex-cess of love and transfixed in feelings of happiness

all over my body, I oh sage, being absorbed in an

ocean of ecstasy, could not distinguish Him from

myself any longer. (18) No longer seeing the form

of the Lord who removes all disparity from the

mind, I all of a sudden got up being perturbed like

someone who has lost something desirable. (19)

Desiring to experience that again I could, having

focussed my mind on the heart, despite of my

waiting, not see Him, and got very depressed be-ing frustrated that way. (20) Trying and trying in

that lonely place I heard from the beyond pleasing

words of gravity being spoken to me that miti-

gated my grief: (21) 'Listen, for the duration of

your life you will not acquire the vision of Me

here, because it is difficult to acquire the vision

when one, immature with impurities, is guilty in

one's being united. (22) That form was only shown

once to raise your desire oh virtuous one, because

by the increase of the desire of the devotee all lusts

will be driven away from the heart. (23) When one

for a few days only being of service to the Absolutehas attained a steady intelligence unto Me someone,

having given up on the deplorable of this world,

will head for and be of My associates. (24) The in-

telligence engaged this way in devotion can at no

time be separated from Me because, whether beings

are becoming or fading away, by My mercy their

remembrance will continue.'


\


15/47

(25) After thus having spoken, that great andwonderful sound of the Supreme authority stopped

and I, grateful for the grace, bowed my head in

obeisance to the great and glorified. (26) Free

from formalities exercising the holy name of theUnlimited One and being of the constant remem-

brance of His mysterious and benedictory activi-

ties, I traveled the earth liberated and contented in

all modesty, without any resentment awaiting my

time. (27) Thus free from attachment to the mate-

rial world being absorbed in Ka oh Vysadeva,in due course of time death came to get me as

natural as lightning coinciding with a flash. (28)

Having been awarded with a transcendental body

worthy of an associate of the Lord, I, seeing that

my acquired karma had ended, quitted the body

that is composed of the five material elements.

(29) At the end of the era the Lord, having laid

Himself down in the waters of devastation, took

me, with the creator and all, in within His breath.

(30) A thousand ages later, when the creator again

was expired I reappeared together with is likeMarci. (31) Faithful to the vow traveling withinthe three worlds as well as in the beyond, I, be-

cause of the mercy of Mah-Viu, am free to gowherever and whenever I want. (32) This way I

move around constantly singing the message of

the Lord while I vibrate the transcendentally

charged vn with which the Godhead has deco-rated me. (33) Singing thus soon the sight of the

Lord of the lotus feet about whose actions one

gladly hears, as if called for appears in the seat of

my heart. (34) I arrived at the insight that for those

who in their desire for the objects of the senses are

full of worries, there is a boat to cross over theocean of material nescience: the repeated singing

of the glories of the Lord. (35) Desire and lust be-

ing curbed every time by the discipline of yoga

certainly will not be as satisfying to the soul as the

devotional service to the Personality of Godhead.

(36) I, upon your request, described to you who

are free from sin all this about my birth and activi-

ties, so that the satisfaction of your as well as of

my soul is served.' "

(37)Sta said: "After thus having addressed thepowerful sage, Nrada Muni took leave of the sonof Satyavat and, vibrating his enchanting vn,left for wherever. (38) All glory and success to the

sage of the gods who takes pleasure in singing the

glories of the Personality of Godhead and thus,

with the help of his instrument, enlivens the dis-

tressed universe."

Chapter 7The Son of Drona

Punished

(1) r aunaka said:"What did, upon the de-

parture of Nrada Muni,the great lordship of

Vysadeva do after havingheard from the great sage

what he wanted to know?"

(2) Sta replied: "On thewestern bank of the

Sarasvat where sagesmeditate there is at a-myprsa an rama forthe promotion of tran-

scendental activities. (3)

There at home Vysadeva

Canto 1 15

\


16/47

sat down surrounded by berrytrees to focus his

mind after he had performed his water sacrifice.

(4) With his mind aligning in the devotion of yoga

he saw, being perfectly fixed without material

concerns, the entirety of both the Original Person

[the purua] and the external energy that depends

on Him. (5) The living entities conditioned to themodes of nature take, in spite of the transcendental

nature of their soul, the unwanted for granted and

undergo the reactions thereof. (6) For the sake of

the common people who are unaware of the cessa-

tion of the unwanted that one finds in the yoga of

devotion unto the One in the Beyond, the sage,

who understood this, composed the different sto-

ries relating to the Absolute Truth. (7) Simply at-

tending to the literatures about the Supreme Per-

sonality of Ka will make the devotional sprout

that takes away lamentation, illusion and fear. (8)After having assembled and revised the collections

of stories, he taught them to his son ukadevaGosvm, the sage of the path of self-realization."

(9) aunaka asked: "Why would he, who on thepath of self-realization is always contented within

in contempt of everything else, make any work of

such an extensive study?"

(10)Sta said: "Such are His wonderful qualities

that, in spite of the fact that one takes pleasure inthe soul, the common people as well as the sages

who are freed from all material bondage are of

pure devotional service unto

Lord Viu, Urukrama. (11) Thedevotees loved the powerful son

of Vysa because he, in havingtaken up the regular study of this

great narration, was always ab-

sorbed in thetranscendental qual-

ity of the Supreme Lord. (12) So

let me now tell you the story

about the birth, activities and

deliverance of King Parkit, thesage among the kings, as well as

the story about how the sons of

Pu came to renouce theworld. These stories lead to the

stories about Lord Ka.

(13-14)When on the battlefield of Kuruketra thewarriors of the Pavas and the Kauravas hadfound their heroic fate and the son of King

Dhtarra [Duryodhana] was lamenting his bro-ken spine due to being beaten by the club of

Bhma, the son of Droncrya [Avatthm]thought that he could please his master Duryod-

hana by delivering the heads of the sleeping sons

of Draupadas a trophy. But the master being con-fronted with this disapproved of this heinous act.

(15) The mother of the children [of the Pavas],cried aggrieved bitter tears when she heard about

the massacre. Arjuna [who headed the Pavas],tried to pacify her and said: (16) 'I can only wipe

the tears from your eyes oh gentle lady, when the

head of that degraded brahmin aggressor is sev-

ered by the arrows of my bow Gndva. I will pre-

sent it to you so that you can place your foot on itand you, after the cremation of your sons, can take

a bath.' (17) Satisfying her with this choice of

words Arjuna, he who is guided by the Infallible

One, fully armed and equipped ascended his char-

iot to persecute Avatthm, the son of his martialteacher. (18) When he from a distance saw him in

hot pursuit, the child murderer fearing for his life

fled with his chariot in great speed, just like Sryadid when he fled from from iva [*]. (19) Findinghimself unprotected the moment his horses got

tired, [Avatthm] the brahmin son, only thinkingof himself, resorted to the ultimate weapon [the

brahmstra]. (20) With his life in danger, he


\


17/47

touched water and concentrated to recite the man-

tras, even though he didn't know how to stop the

process. (21) A glaring light spreading in all direc-

tions shone that fierce, that seeing the life threat

Arjuna turned to the Lord [who drove his chariot]

and said: (22) 'O, Ka, Ka, You are the Al-

mighty who takes away the fears of the devotees,You alone are the path of liberation for those who

suffer in their material existence. (23) You are the

transcendental, original enjoyer and direct control-

ler of the material energy. You are the one who by

means of His own internal potency, from the bliss

and knowledge of Your own Self, wards off the

material illusion. (24) From that position You in

the heart of the ones materially entangled, by vir-

tue of Your power bestow the ultimate good of

righteousness and such [characteristics of dharma:

truth, purity, penance and compassion]. (25) ThusYou incarnate in order to take the burden away

from the earth and to satisfy Your friends and pure

devotees as the constant object of their meditation.

(26) Oh Lord of Lords, I don't know where this

highly dangerous, dazzling light that is spreading

in all directions originates from.' (27) The Su-

preme Lord said: 'Take it from Me that it is caused

by the son of Drona who, faced with the immi-

nence of his death, launched the weapon of man-

tras without knowing how to retract it. (28) Noth-

ing else can counter this weapon but another one;

in fact you will have to subdue this immense glareby means of your own dazzling, martial art.' "

(29)Sta said: "After hearing what the SupremeLord said, Arjuna, circumambulating the Lord,

sipped water himself and took up the supreme

weapon to curb the one of his opponent. (30) From

the combined glare of the two weapons thereupon

the entire firmament including outer space was

covered by an expanding ball of fire as bright as

the sun. (31) When the inhabitants of the three

worlds saw how the heat of both of the weaponsscorched them severely, that reminded them of the

fire of annihilation at the end of time [smvar-taka]. (32) Realizing the disturbance it all created

for the common people and their places, Arjuna,

on the direction of Vsudeva, retracted both theweapons. (33) Then Arjuna, angered with eyes red

as copper, arrested the son of Gautam, bindinghim skillfully with ropes as if it concerned an

animal. (34) When he with force had bound the

enemy and was about to take him to the military

camp, the Supreme Lord, looking on with His lo-

tus eyes, said to the angered Arjuna: (35) 'Never

let this relative of the learned go, punish him, for

he has killed innocent boys in their sleep. (36)

Someone who knows the principles of religion isafraid to kill an enemy who is careless, intoxi-

cated, insane, asleep, of tender age, a woman,

foolish, a surrendered soul or someone who has

lost his chariot. (37) But someone who shameless

and cruel thinks he can rightly maintain his own

life at the cost of the lives of others, certainly for

his own good deserves to be stopped in his tracks,

because the person [of the criminal as well as the

one consenting] is brought down by crime. (38) I

personally heard you making the promise to the

daughter of the King of Pcla: 'I will bring youthe head of the one you consider the murderer ofyour sons.' (39) He, being not more than the

burned ashes of his family, an offending sinner

who is responsible for the assassination of your

sons and is someone who displeased his own mas-

ter, must therefore be sentenced.' "

(40)Sta said: "Although Arjuna, by Ka beingput to a test concerning the matter of his duty,

was encouraged to do so, he didn't aspire to kill

the son of his teacher, despite of the fact that he

was the heinous murderer of his sons. (41) When

he thereafter together with his dear friend and

charioteer Govinda reached his own camp, he

entrusted the assassin to his dear wife who was

lamenting over her murdered sons. (42) Upon

seeing the criminal silent from his heinous act

thus being brought in like an animal tied in ropes,

Draupad, from the beauty of her nature out ofcompassion showed the son of the teacher due

respect. (43) She couldn't bear the sight of him

brought in ropes and said: 'Release him, for he as

a learned one [a brhmana] is our teacher. (44)By his [Drona's] mercy you yourself have re-

ceived the confidential knowledge of the martial

arts and the release and control of all kinds of

weapons. (45) The lordship of Drona for certain

still exists in the form of his son, because his

other half Krip [his wife] with a son presentdidn't follow her husband into death [by means of

sat]. (46) Therefore, oh most fortunate one in

Canto 1 17

\


18/47

knowing the dharma, by the goodness that is in

you, cause no grief to the ever respectable and

honorable family. (47) Do not make his mother,

Drona's devoted wife, cry the way I do in con-

stantly shedding tears in distress over a lost child.

(48) If the noble administration is of no restraint

in relating to the order of the learned, that rulewill burn up in no time and will, together with its

family members fall to grief.' "

(49)Sta said: "O learned ones, the king [of thePavas, Yudhihira] supported the statementsof the queen as they were in accord with the

dharma of justice, merciful, without duplicity and

glorious in equity. (50) And so did Nakula and

Sahadeva [the younger brothers of the king] and

also Styaki, Arjuna, the Supreme Lord the son of

Devak, as well as the ladies and others. (51)Thereupon Bhma said indignantly: 'About the factthat he without a good reason, nor for himself nor

for his master, has killed sleeping children, is

stated that he deserves death.'

(52) The four-armed one [Lord Ka] who hadheard the words spoken by Bhma and Draupadand had seen the face of His friend [Arjuna], said

with a faint smile: (53-54) 'One should not kill the

relative of a brahmin, even though one kills an

aggressor - as far as I am concerned both is pre-scribed to be carried out when we want to follow

the rules. You have to keep to the truth of the

promise you made when you pacified your wife

and also act to the satisfaction of Bhma as well asof Me.' "

(55)Sta said: "Immediately understanding whatthe Lord meant, he separated with his sword the

jewel from the head of the twice-born one along

with his hair. (56) After releasing him from the

ropes, he [Avatthm], who next to the loss of hisbodily luster because of the infanticide, also had

lost his strength in being deprived of his jewel,

was driven out of the camp. (57) Cutting the hair,

confiscating the wealth and banishment are the

forms of physical punishment reserved for the

relatives of the learned, not any other method of

dealing with the body. (58) Thereafter the sons of

Pu together with Draupad, overtaken by griefperformed the duties that were needed in respect

of the deceased family members."

*: When the sun-god chased the demon Vidy-

unml, darted Lord iva in anger against himwith his trident. The sungod fleeing toppled at

K, where he became known as Lolrka.

Chapter 8

Parkit Saved and Prayers by QueenKunt

(1) Sta said: "Thus they headed, along withDraupad and the women put in front, to theGanges, with the wish to perform the water duties

for their relatives. (2) After each had done his of-fering of water and sufficiently had mourned, they

took a bath in the water of the Ganges that is puri-

fied by the dust of the lotus feet of the Lord. (3)

There the king of the Kurus [Yudhihira] with hisyounger brothers, Dhtarra and Ghndrsat indeep bereavement together with Kunt, Draupadand the Lord Himself. (4) Lord Ka togetherwith the munis there pacified the shocked and af-

fected family who had lost their friends and mem-

bers, by showing how each is subjected to the

Time that cannot be avoided. (5) Because of cheat-

ing Yudhihira [the eldest of the Pavas], whohad no enemies, the unscrupulous ones [Duryod-

hana and his brothers] had been killed who clev-

erly seized the kingdom and had shortened their

lifespan by their insult of touching the hair of the

queen [Draupad]. (6) By the proper performanceof three horse sacrifices his [Yudhihira's] famespread in all directions like the fame of Indra who

performed that sacrifice a hundred times.

(7) Worshiped by the wise and the learned, the

Lord, in response to their farewell, invited the sonsof Pu and also Uddhava [another relative andfriend of Ka]. (8) Seated on His chariot He, justas He wanted to leave for Dvrak, saw Uttar[the mother expecting Parkit] hurrying towardsHim in fear. (9) She said: 'Protect me, protect me,

oh Greatest of the Yogis, oh Worshiped One of the

Worshiped and Lord of the Universe, apart from

You I see no one fearless in this world of death


\


19/47

and duality. (10) Oh all-powerful Lord, a fiery iron

arrow is coming towards me. Let it burn me, oh

Protector, but save my embryo!' "

(11) Sta said: "Patiently hearing her words theSupreme Lord, who is the caretaker of the devo-

tees, understood that this was the result of abrahmstra weapon of the son of Drona whowanted to end the existence of all Pava de-scendants. (12) Oh chief of the munis [aunaka],seeing the glaring brahmstra heading towardsthem, the Pavas each took up their own fiveweapons. (13) Seeing that they were in great dan-

ger with no other means available, the Almighty

One took up His Sudarana disc for the protectionof His devotees. (14) From within the soul of all

living beings, the Supreme Lord of Yoga, by means

of His personal energy, shielded the embryo of Ut-tar in order to protect the progeny of the Kuru dy-nasty. (15) Oh aunaka, even though the brahms-tra weapon cannot be stopped by counteractions, it

was, being confronted with the strength of Viu,neutralized. (16) But do not regard all of this, with

everything mysterious and infallible that we know

of Him, as something special. The unseen godhead

is by means of His material potency of creation,

maintenance and annihilation.

(17) Being saved from the radiation of the

weapon, the chaste Kuntalong with her sons ad-dressed Lord Ka who was about to leave. (18)Kuntsaid: 'My obeisances unto You, the Purua,the Original Controller of the Cosmos who is in-

visible and beyond all existing both within and

without. (19) Covered by the deluding [material]

curtain, being irreproachably transcendent and not

discerned by the foolish, You are like an actor

dressed up as a player. (20) You appear for the

sake of the advanced transcendentalists and phi-

losophers who can discriminate between spirit and

matter, in order to execute the science that unitesthem in devotion. But how must we, the women,

then exercise respect for You? (21) Therefore I

offer You my respectful obeisances, You the Pro-

tector of the cows and the senses, the Supreme

Lord, the son of Vasudeva and Devak, the One ofNanda and the cowherd men of Vndvana. (22)My respects for You, who has a lotuslike depres-

sion in His abdomen, who is always decorated

with lotus flowers, whose glance is as cool as a

lotus flower and whose footprints show the mark

of lotus flowers. (23) You are the master of the

senses and have released the distressed Devak[mother of Ka] from being imprisoned for solong by the envious [uncle] King Kamsa. And oh

Lordship, You have protected me and my childrenagainst a constant threat. (24) Saving us in the past

from poison, a great fire, man-eaters, a vicious

assembly, sufferings from exile in the forest and

against weapons in battles with great generals,

You have now fully protected us against the

weapon of the son of Drona. (25) I wish we would

have more of those calamities, oh Master of the

Universe, so that we can meet You again and

again, because meeting You means that we no

longer see the repetition of births and death. (26)

The ones intoxicated by striving for a good birth,

opulences, education, and beauty will never ever

deserve to address You, who are easily approached

by the ones destitute. (27) All honor to You, the

wealth of the ones living in poverty, who tran-

Canto 1 19

\


20/47

scendental to the emotions one has with the mate-

rial modes, are the One self-contented and most

gentle; all my respect for You who are the master

of beatitude. (28) I consider You the personifica-

tion of Eternal Time, the Lord without a beginning

or an end, the All-pervasive One distributing Your

mercy everywhere equally among the beings wholive in dissent with each other. (29) Oh Lord, no

one understands Your pastimes, that appear to be

as conflictuous as the exploits of the common

man; people think You are partial, but You favor or

dislike no one. (30) Oh Soul of the Universe, with

Your vital energy taking birth although You are

unborn and acting although You are inactive, You

manifesting Yourself with the animals, the human

beings, the wise and the aquatics, are veritably

bewildering. (31) It is bewildering for me to see

that at the time the gop[Yaod, the cowherd fos-ter mother of Ka] took up a rope to bind Youbecause You were naughty, You were afraid and

cried the make-up off Your eyes, even though You

are feared by fear in person. (32) Some say that

You, like sandalwood appearing in the Malaya

Hills, are born from the unborn for the glory of the

pious kings or the pleasure of the family of dear

King Yadu. (33) Others say that You descended

from the unborn for the good of Vasudeva and

Devakwho prayed for You and for the demise ofthe ones envious with the godly. (34) Still others

say that You, like a boat on the sea, came to takeaway the burden of extreme worldly grief and

were born from the prayers of Lord Brahm. (35)And yet others say that You appeared for the ones

suffering from desire and nescience in the materi-

ally motivated world so that they may perform in

hearing, remembering and worshiping You. (36)

Those people who take pleasure in continuously

hearing, chanting and remembering Your activi-

ties, certainly very soon will see Your lotus feet,

who put the recurrence of rebirths to an end. (37)

Oh Lord, with all that You did for us, You, todaygoing to the kings engaged in enmity, are leaving

us behind. Us, Your intimate friends living by

Your mercy alone in dependence on Your lotus

feet. (38) We, without You, will, along with the

Yadus and Pavas, be without the fame andname, like a body is without the senses after the

spirit has left. (39) The land of our kingdom will

no longer appear as beautiful as it does now, being

dazzled by the marks of Your footprints. (40) All

these cities and towns, because of Your glances,

flourished more and more with their wealth of

herbs, vegetables, forests, hills, rivers and seas.

(41) Therefore, oh Lord of the Universe, oh Per-

sonality of the universal form, cut my tie of deep

affection for my kinsmen the Pavas and theVrinis. (42) Make my attraction to You pure andcontinuously overflowing, like the Ganges flowing

down to the sea. (43) Oh Ka, friend of Arjunaand chief of the Vrinis, annihilator of the rebel-lious dynasties on this earth, with Your unrelenting

bravery You relieve the distressed cows, the twice-

born and the godly, oh Lord of Yoga incarnate,

universal preceptor and original proprietor, unto

You my respectful obeisances.' "

(44) Sta said: "Thus being worshiped in His uni-versal glories with the choice of words of queenKunt, the Lord gave a mild smile that was as cap-tivating as His mystic power. (45) Thus accepting

all of that the Lord, after further paying respects to

other ladies in the palace of Hastinpura, uponleaving for His own residence, was stopped by the

love of [Yudhihira] the king. (46) The learned,the sages and Lord Ka, of all people the One ofsuperhuman accomplishment Himself, could not

convince the king in his distress, nor could he find

any solace in the classical stories. (47) King

Yudhihira, the son of Dharma, from a materialconception thinking about the loss of his friends,

got, oh sages, carried away by the delusion of his

affection when he said: (48) 'Oh, just look at me

who in the ignorance of his heart is immersed in

the sin of with this body, which is meant to serve

others, having killed so many formations of warri-

ors. (49) I, having killed so many boys, twice-born

ones, caretakers, friends, elders, brothers and

teachers, for sure will never ever, not even for a

million years, be freed from hell. (50) It is no sin

for a king to kill when he fights his enemies forthe right cause of protecting his people, but those

words, instituted for the satisfaction of the admini-

stration, do not apply to me. (51) All the enmity

that accrued because of the friends that I have

killed who left women behind, I cannot expect to

be undone with me serving the sake of material

welfare. (52) Just like one cannot filter mud

through mud or clear wine stains with wine, it is


\


21/47

of no avail to counteract one's sin of having killed

with the reglementary sacrificing of animals.' "

Chapter 9The Passing Away of Bhmadeva in thePresence of Lord Ka

(1)Sta said: "Yudhihira in fear because he hadkilled went thereafter, from the full of his realiza-

tion of the religious duty, to the battlefield where

he found the dying Bhmadeva lying down. (2)Drawn by the best horses decorated with golden

ornaments, all the brothers followed him hither,

accompanied by Vysa, Dhaumya [the priest of the

Pavas] and other is. (3) Also the SupremeLord came along with Arjuna on the chariot, ohsages among the learned, and thus appearing very

aristocratic he [the king] was like Kuvera [the

treasurer of the demigods] together with his com-

panions. (4) When Yudhihira saw Bhma lyingon the ground like a demigod fallen from heaven,

he together with his brothers and the Lord who

carries the disc, Ka, bowed down before him.(5) At that place were present all the sages among

the brahmins, the godly and the royalty, just to see

the leader of the descen-

dants of King Bharata [thecommon ancestor]. (6-7)

Parvata Muni, Nrada,Dhaumya, Lord Vysa, Bri-hadava, Bharadvja andParaurma were presentthere with their disciples

and also Vasiha, Indra-pramada, Trita, Gtsamada,Asita, Kakvn, Gautama,Atri, Kauika and Su-

darana had come. (8) Ohlearned ones, also manyother sages like ukadeva,the instrument of God, and

other pure souls like

Kayapa and ngirasa ar-rived there accompanied by

their disciples.

(9) Bhmadeva, the best among the Vasus know-ing well how to behave in respect of the dharma

according to time and circumstances, welcomed

all the great and powerful ones who had assem-

bled there. (10) Knowing of Ka's glories healso in worship welcomed Him, the Lord of the

Universe who, situated in the heart, manifests Hisform through His internal potency. (11) Seeing the

sons of Pu sitting silently by his side, Bhmacongratulated them warmheartedly. With tears in

his eyes in ecstacy he was overtaken by feelings of

love about the gathering. (12) He said: 'Oh how

painful and unjust it has been for you good souls,

sons of righteousness, to have had such a life of

suffering you never really deserved under the pro-

tection of the learned, the religion and the Infalli-

ble One. (13) When after the death of the great

general Pu, the children of Kunt, my daughterin law, were still tender of age, she had to suffer agreat deal on your account, and that continued

even after you boys had grown up. (14) All the

unpleasant that happened I think, is the inescap-

able effect of Time; you, just like the rest of the

world with its ruling demigods, fall under that

control just like the clouds that are carried by the

wind. (15) Why else would there be that misfor-

tune with the presence of Yudhihira, the son ofthe ruler of religion, Bhma with his mighty club,

Canto 1 21

\


22/47

Arjuna carrying his Gndva and our well-wisherLord Ka? (16) No one may fathom God's planoh King; it bewilders even the great philosophers

who are engaged in exhaustive inquiries. (17)

Therefore, I assure you, oh best of the descendants

of Bharata, that this was only due to His provi-

dence, His desire; oh ruler - just take care of thehelpless subjects oh master. (18) He [Ka] whoinconceivably moves among the Vrini family, isno one else but the Supreme Lord, the original,

primordial, supreme enjoyer Nryaa who bewil-ders each by His energies. (19) Oh King, Lord iva,Nrada the sage among the godly and the greatLord Kapila are the ones who have direct knowl-

edge of the most confidential glories of His Lord-

ship. (20) He is the very same person you consider

your maternal cousin, dearest friend, ardent well-

wisher, counselor, messenger, benefactor andcharioteer. (21) He who is present in everyone's

heart, who is equal to all and who being from the

Absolute never falsely identifies Himself, is, in

His consciousness of making with everything He

does a difference at each moment, free from what-

ever predilection. (22) Yet, despite of His imparti-

ality with the devotees, see, oh King, how Kadirectly, at the end of my life, cared to be present

at my side. (23) Those yoga adepts who with Him

in mind devoutly meditate on His holy name and

with their mouth sing His glories, will, upon aban-

doning the material conception of life, find releasefrom the desire proper to their materially moti-

vated actions. (24) May He who in my meditations

appears as the four-handed God of the Gods, the

Supreme Lord with His cheerful smile, His eyes

red like the morning sun and His decorated lotus

face await me when I leave this material body.' "

(25) Sta said: "Yudhihira, who heard that fromhim who was lying on a bed of arrows, asked him,

with the is listening, about the diverse religious

duties. (26) Bhma described to him the differentstages of life and the vocations as determined bythe qualities of the person next to the way how one

should deal systematically with both the symp-

toms of attachment and detachment. (27) He ex-

plained about the duties of charity, rulership and

liberation by giving their divisions and gave the

general outline of the duties of women and devo-

tional service. (28) Knowing the truth he de-

scribed, oh sages, the [four basic civil virtues of]

religious dutifulness, economy, fulfillment of de-

sires and liberation, to which he cited various

known histories. (29) During the time Bhmadescribed the duties, the sun ran over the northern

hemisphere, which is precisely the desired time pre-

ferred by the mystics when they want to leave thisworld [see B.G. 8: 24]. (30) Bhmadeva, the pro-tector of thousands of sciences and arts, then fell

silent and with a mind freed from all bondage he

fixed his eyes wide open upon the Original Person

Lord r Ka, the Fourhanded One who wasstanding before him in yellow garments. (31) Sim-

ply looking at Him, the Annihilator of the Inauspi-

cious, his meditation purified and his pain from the

arrows disappeared instantly. And while he prayed

before the material tabernacle all the activities of

his senses ceased when he departed for the Control-ler of All Living Beings. (32) rBhmadeva said:'Let me being freed from desires prepare my mind

for the Supreme Lord, the Leader of the Devotees,

the Great Self-contented One who in the realization

of His transcendental joy at times [as an avtara]takes pleasure in accepting this material world with

her creation and destruction. (33) He is the most

desirable person of the higher, lower and middle

worlds. Bluish like a tamla tree, He wears Hisdress that shines like the golden rays of the sun. He

has a body decorated with sandalwood pulp and a

face like a lotus. May my love free from materialmotives repose in the friend of Arjuna. (34) Let the

mind be directed towards rKa who, with Hisscattered hair that on the battlefield turned ashen

from the dust of the hoofs, with His face decorated

with perspiration and His skin pierced by my sharp

arrows, wearing His protective armor took pleasure

in all of it. (35) After hearing the command of His

friend He drove His chariot between the opposing

forces, where positioned He diminished the lifespan

of the enemy by simply looking at them. Let there

be my love for that friend of Arjuna. (36) While thetroops were looking at a distance, He with His tran-

scendental knowledge eradicated the ignorance of

him who, because of a polluted intelligence, was

reluctant to kill his kinsmen. Let there be the tran-

scendence of my attraction for His feet.

(37)For the sake of the fulfillment of my dutyfactually to be more of violence and against His


\


23/47

own sworn principle [to stay out of the fray], He

got down from His chariot, took up it's wheel and

- while dropping His outer garment - paced towards

me like a lion that is about to kill an elephant. (38)

Wounded by the sharp arrows and without His

shield He, smeared with blood, in the angry mood

of the great aggressor moved towards me in orderto kill me. May that Supreme Lord who awards

salvation become my destination. (39) Let me, at

this hour of death, be of love for the Personality of

Godhead who, controlling the horses with a whip in

His right hand and the reins in the left, so elegant to

behold by all means protected the chariot of Arjuna.

It was by looking at Him that those who died at this

place realized their original form. (40) Watching the

attractive movements of His supremely spirited,

fascinating acts and sweet smiles, the gops of Vra-

jadhma [the village of Ka's youth] imitatingHim in ecstasy, found their original nature. (41)When King Yudhihira performed the [Rjasya]royal sacrifice where the great sages and kings were

assembled, He received the respectful worship of

all the members of the elite. I present there recog-

nized Him at the time [and still remember Him

now] als the spirit soul, as the object of worship.

(42) Having experienced the absorption of being

freed from the misconceptions of duality, I have

known [ever since] that He, now present before me,

is the One Unborn in the heart of the conditioned

soul. It is He who in His being situated as the Su-persoul in the heart of all who are created by Him,

just like the one sun, is looked upon differently

from every angle.' "

(43)Sta said: "With his mind, speech, sight andactions thus fixed upon Ka only, he fell silentand stopped breathing, having merged in the living

being of the Supersoul. (44) After hearing this all

from Bhmadeva as he merged into the SupremeAbsolute and Unlimited, everyone fell silent like

birds at the end of the day. (45) Thereafter fromeverywhere drums sounded being beaten by gods

and men, accompanied by heartfelt praise from the

pious royal order and showers of flowers falling

from the sky. (46) Oh descendant of Bhrigu [au-naka], after having performed the funeral rites for

the dead body, Yudhihira was afflicted for a mo-ment. (47) The sages who were satisfied and

happy about the [revelation of the] confidential

secret of Lord Ka's glories, then went back totheir own hermitages with Him installed in their

hearts. (48) King Yudhihira went together withLord Ka to Hastinpura and consoled his uncle[Dhtarra] and ascetic aunt Ghndhr. (49)With the approval of his uncle and consent of Lord

Vsudeva he thereafter, faithful to the greatness ofhis forefathers, executed the royal duties over the

kingdom."

Chapter 10

The Departure of Lord Ka forDvrak

(1) aunaka Muni asked: "How did KingYud

canto1 eng

Documents