Agnipurana 380: athāśītyadhikatriśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ

380.p1

gītāsāraḥ

380.p2

agniruvāca

380.1

gītāsāraṃ pravakṣyāmi sarvagītottamottamam
kṛṣṇo'rjunāya yamāha purā vai bhuktimuktidam

Agni said: / I shall declare the essence of the Gītā, highest of all songs, / which Kṛṣṇa anciently spoke to Arjuna, granting worldly enjoyment and liberation.

380.2

śrībhagavānuvāca
gatāsuragatāsurvā na śocyo dehavānajaḥ
ātmājaro'maro'bhedyastasmācchokādikaṃ tyajet

The Blessed Lord said: / Whether life is gone or not gone, the unborn embodied soul is not to be grieved for. / The self is ageless, immortal, indivisible; therefore, one should abandon grief and the like.

380.3

dhyāyato viṣayān puṃsaḥ saṅgasteṣūpajāyate
saṅgāt kāmastataḥ krodhaḥ krodhātsammoha eva ca

For a man meditating on sense-objects, attachment to them is born; / from attachment arises desire, from that anger, and from anger delusion indeed.

380.4

ammohāt smṛtivibhraṃśo buddhināśāt praṇaśyati
duḥsaṅgahāniḥ satsaṅgānmokṣakāmī ca kāmanut

From delusion comes loss of memory; from destruction of intellect he perishes. / Abandonment of bad company comes from good company, [and thus] desiring liberation and casting off desire,

380.5

kāmatyāgādātmaniṣṭhaḥ sthiraprajñastadocyate
yā niśā sarvabhūtānāṃ tasyāṃ jāgarti saṃyamī

steadfast in the self through relinquishing desire, he is then called one of steady wisdom. / That which is night for all beings, in that the self-controlled man keeps awake.

380.6

yasyāṃ jāgrati bhūtāni sā niśā paśyato muneḥ
ātmanyeva ca santuṣṭastasya kāryaṃ na vidyate

That in which beings keep awake is night for the seeing sage. / And satisfied in the self alone, for him there is no duty to be done.

380.7

naiva tasya kṛte nārtho nākṛte neha kaścanaḥ
tattvavittu mahāvāho guṇakarmavibhāgayoḥ

For him there is no purpose at all in what is done here, nor in what is not done. / But the knower of truth, O mighty-armed one, regarding the divisions of gunas and actions,

380.8

guṇā guṇeṣu vartante iti matvā na sajjate
sarvaṃ jñānaplavenaiva vṛjinaṃ santariṣyati

thinking, "The gunas operate among the gunas," is not attached. / He will cross over all sin solely by the boat of knowledge.

380.9

jñānāgniḥ sarvakarmāṇi bhasmasāt kurute'rjuna
brahmaṇyādhāya karmāṇi saṅgantyaktvā karoti yaḥ

The fire of knowledge reduces all actions to ashes, O Arjuna. / Dedicating actions to Brahman, he who acts having abandoned attachment

380.10

lipyate na sa pāpena padmapatramivāmbhasā
sarvabhūteṣu cātmānaṃ sarvabhūtāni cātmani

is not tainted by sin, just as a lotus leaf is not [tainted] by water. / Seeing the self in all beings and all beings in the self,

380.11

īkṣate yogayuktātmā sarvatra samadarśanaḥ
śucīnāṃ śrīmatāṃ gehe yogabhraṣṭo'bhijāyate

the one whose self is disciplined in yoga sees with equal vision everywhere. / One fallen from yoga is born in the house of the pure and prosperous.

380.12

na hi kalyāṇakṛt kaściddurgatiṃ tāta gacchati
devī hyeṣā guṇamayī mama māyā duratyayā

For no one who does good goes to a bad state, my dear friend. / For this divine māyā of mine, composed of the gunas, is hard to overcome.

380.13

māmeva ye prapadyante māyāmetāntaranti te
ārto jijñāsurarthārtho jñānī ca bharatarṣabha

Those who take refuge in me alone cross beyond this māyā. / The afflicted, the seeker of knowledge, the seeker of wealth, and the man of knowledge, O best of the Bharatas—

380.14

caturvidhā bhajante māṃ jñānī caikatvamāsthitaḥ
akṣaraṃ brahma paramaṃ svabhāvo'dhyātmamucyate

fourfold are they who worship me; and the man of knowledge is established in oneness.

380.15

bhūtabhāvodbhavakaro visargaḥ karmasaṃjñitaḥ
adhibhūtaṃ kṣarobhāvaḥ puruṣaścādhidaivatam

The emission that brings about the origin of the existence of beings is known as action. / The perishable existence is the material realm, and the cosmic Person is the realm of the deities.

380.16

adhiyajño'hamevātra dehe dehabhṛtāṃ vara
antakāle smaranmāñca madbhāvaṃ yātyasaṃśayaḥ

I alone am the realm of sacrifice here in this body, O best of embodied beings. / And at the time of death, remembering me, he attains my state beyond doubt.

380.17

yaṃ yaṃ bhāvaṃ smarannante tyajeddehantamāpnuyāt
prāṇaṃ nyasya bhruvormadhye ante prāpnoti matparam

Remembering whatever state of being at the end he leaves the body, to that he goes. / Placing the vital breath between the eyebrows at the end, he attains my supreme [state].

380.18

omityekākṣaraṃ brahma vadan dehaṃ tyajantathā
brahmādistambhaparyantāḥ sarve mama vibhūtayaḥ

Pronouncing the single syllable OṂ, which is Brahman, thus casting off the body. / From Brahmā down to a blade of grass, all are my manifestations.

380.19

śrīmantaścorjitāḥ sarve mamāṃśāḥ prāṇinaḥ smṛtāḥ
ahameko viśvarūpa iti jñātvā vimucyate

All living beings that are prosperous and powerful are considered portions of me. / Knowing, "I alone am the universal form," one is liberated.

380.20

kṣetraṃ śarīraṃ yo vetti kṣetrajñaḥ sa prakīrtitaḥ
kṣetrakṣetrajñayorjñānaṃ yattajjñānaṃ mataṃ mama

He who knows the body as the field is declared to be the knower of the field. / The knowledge of the field and the knower of the field, that is considered knowledge by me.

380.21

mahābhūtānyahaṅkāro buddhiravyaktameva ca
indriyāṇi daśaikañca pañca cendriyagocarāḥ

The great elements, ego-sense, intellect, and the unmanifest; / the eleven sense faculties, and the five objects of the senses;

380.22

icchā dveṣaḥ sukhaṃ duḥkhaṃ saṅghātaścetanā dhṛtiḥ
etatkṣetraṃ samāsena savikāramudāhṛtam

desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, the aggregate, consciousness, steadfastness: / this in brief is declared to be the field with its modifications.

380.23

amānitvamadambhitvamahiṃsā kṣāntirārjavam
ācāryopāsanaṃ śaucaṃ sthairyamātmavinigrahaḥ

Humility, unpretentiousness, non-violence, forbearance, uprightness, / attendance on the teacher, ritual purity, steadfastness, self-restraint,

380.24

indriyārtheṣu vairāgyamanahaṅkāra eva ca
janmamṛtyujarāvyādhiduḥkhadoṣānudarśanam

dispassion toward sense-objects, and also absence of egoism, / contemplation of the evils of birth, death, old age, disease, and suffering,

380.25

āsaktiranabhiṣvaṅgaḥ putradāragṛhādiṣu
nityañca samacittattvamiṣṭāniṣṭopapattiṣu

non-clinging, absence of passionate attachment toward sons, wife, home, and the like,

380.26

mayi cānanyayogena bhaktiravyabhicāriṇī
viviktadeśasevitvamaratirjanasaṃsadi

and unswerving devotion to me through disciplined focus on no other, / resort to solitary places, distaste for crowds of people,

380.27

adhyātmajñānaniṣṭhatvantattvajñānānudarśanam
etajjñānamiti proktamajñānaṃ yadato'nyathā

steadfastness in knowledge of the supreme self, perception of the aim of knowledge of reality: / this is declared to be knowledge; that which is contrary to it is ignorance.

380.28

jñeyaṃ yattat pravakṣyāmi yaṃ jñātvāmṛtamaśnute
anādi paramaṃ brahma sattvaṃ nāma taducyate

I shall declare that which is to be known, knowing which one attains immortality: / the beginningless supreme Brahman; it is called neither being nor non-being.

380.29

sarvataḥ pāṇipādāntaṃ sarvato'kṣiśiromukham
sarvataḥ śrutimalloke sarvamāvṛtya tiṣṭhati

With hands and feet on all sides, with eyes, heads, and faces on all sides, / with ears on all sides in the world, it stands encompassing all.

380.30

sarvendriyaguṇābhāsaṃ sarvendriyavivarjitam
asaktaṃ sarvabhṛccaiva nirguṇaṃ guṇabhoktṛ ca

Shining with the virtues of all the senses, yet devoid of all the senses; / unattached, yet supporting all; free of the gunas, yet experiencing the gunas;

380.31

vahirantaśca bhūtānāmacarañcarameva ca
sūkṣmatvāttadavijñeyaṃ dūrasthañcāntike'pi yat

outside and inside beings, moving and unmoving; / incomprehensible because of its subtlety; both far away and near;

380.32

avibhaktañca bhūteṣu vibhaktamiva ca sthitam
bhūtabhartṛ ca vijñeyaṃ grasiṣṇu prabhaviṣṇu ca

undivided among beings, yet standing as if divided; / it should be known as the sustainer of beings, devouring them and generating them.

380.33

jyotiṣāmapi tajjyotistamasaḥ paramucyate
jñānaṃ jñeyaṃ jñānagamyaṃ hṛdi sarvasya saṃsthitam

The light even of lights, it is said to be beyond darkness; / knowledge, the object of knowledge, attainable by knowledge, seated in the heart of all.

380.34

dhyānenātmani paśyanti kecidātmānamātmanā
anye sāṅkhyena yogena karmayogena cāpare

By meditation, some see the self in the self by the self; / others by the yoga of knowledge, and others by the yoga of action.

380.35

anye tvevamajānanto śrutvānyebhya upāsate
te'pi cāśu tarantyeva mṛtyuṃ śrutiparāyaṇāḥ

Others, not knowing thus, worship having heard from others; / they too, devoted to hearing, certainly cross beyond death quickly.

380.36

sattvātsañjāyate jñānaṃ rajaso lobha eva ca
pramādamohau tamaso bhavato jñānameva ca

From sattva arises knowledge, and from rajas greed; / negligence and delusion arise from tamas, as does ignorance.

380.37

guṇā vartanta ityeva yo'vatiṣṭhati neṅgate
mānāvamānamitrāritulyastyāgī sa nirguṇaḥ

He who stands firm, thinking only, "The gunas operate," and is not shaken, / equal in honor and dishonor, to friend and foe, renouncing [all undertakings]—he is beyond the gunas.

380.38

ūrdhvamūlamadhaḥśākhamaśvatthaṃ prāhuravyayam
chandāṃsi yasya parṇāni yastaṃ veda sa vedavit

They speak of the imperishable Aśvattha tree with its roots above and branches below, / whose leaves are the Vedic hymns; he who knows it is a knower of the Veda.

380.39

dvau bhūtasargau loke'smin daiva āsura eva ca
ahiṃsādiḥ kṣamā caiva daivīsampattito nṛṇām

There are two orders of beings in this world: the divine and the demonic. / Non-violence and the like, and forbearance, belong to men of divine endowment.

380.40

na śaucaṃ nāpi vācāro hyāsurīsampadodbhavaḥ
narakatvāt krodhalobhakāmastasmāttrayaṃ tyajet

Neither ritual purity nor conduct arises from demonic endowment. / Because they lead to hell, one should abandon the triad of anger, greed, and desire.

380.41

yajñastapastathā dānaṃ sattvādyaistrividhaṃ smṛtam
āyuḥ sattvaṃ balārogyasukhāyānnantu sāttvikam

Sacrifice, ascetic austerity, and gift are considered threefold according to sattva and the rest. / Food that promotes longevity, mental strength, physical strength, health, and happiness is sāttvika.

380.42

duḥkhaśokāmayāyānnaṃ tīkṣṇarūkṣantu rājasam
amedhyocchiṣṭapūtyannaṃ tāmasaṃ nīrasādikam

Food that brings suffering, sorrow, and disease, being pungent and dry, is rājasika. / Food that is impure, remnant, foul-smelling, and tasteless is tāmasika.

380.43

yaṣṭavyo vidhinā yajño niṣkāmāya sa sāttvikaḥ
yajñaḥ phalāya dambhātmī rājasastāmasaḥ kratuḥ

Sacrifice performed according to rule without desire is sāttvika; / a sacrifice [offered] for reward or out of ostentation is rājasika; [that devoid of faith and rules] is a tāmasika rite.

380.44

śraddhāmantrādividhyuktaṃ tapaḥ śārīramucyate
devādipūjāhiṃsādi vāṅmayaṃ tapa ucyate

Ascetic austerity prescribed by faith, mantras, and the like, [such as] worship of gods and non-violence, is called bodily; / ascetic austerity consisting of speech is said [to be]:

380.45

anudvegakaraṃ vākyaṃ satyaṃ svādhyāyasajjapaḥ
mānasaṃ cittasaṃśuddhermaunamātmavinigrahaḥ

words causing no agitation, truth, study of the Veda, and good recitation; / mental [austerity is that] of mental purity, silence, and self-restraint.

380.46

sāttvikañca tapo'kāmaṃ phalādyarthantu rājasam
tāmasaṃ parapīḍāyai sāttvikaṃ dānamucyate

Ascetic austerity without desire is sāttvika, but that for the sake of fruit and the like is rājasika; / that for hurting others is tāmasika. Sāttvika gift is spoken of [as follows]:

380.47

deśādau caiva dātavyamupakārāya rājasam
ādeśādāvavajñātaṃ tāmasaṃ dānamīritam

it must be given in an appropriate place and the like; that for return of a favor is rājasika; / a gift given in an improper place and the like, with contempt, is declared tāmasika.

380.48

—tatsaditi nirdeśo brahmaṇastrividhaḥ smṛtaḥ
yajñadānādikaṃ karma bhuktimuktipradaṃ nṛṇām

“Oṃ Tat Sat”—this is remembered as the threefold designation of Brahman. / Action such as sacrifice and gifts grants worldly enjoyment and liberation to men.

380.49

aniṣṭamiṣṭaṃ miśrañca trividhaṃ karmaṇaḥ phalam
bhavatyatyāgināṃ pretya na tu sannyāsināṃ kvacit

The threefold fruit of action—undesirable, desirable, and mixed— / comes after death to those who have not renounced, but never to renunciants.

380.50

tāmasaḥ karmasaṃyogāt mohātkleśabhayādikāt
rājasaḥ sāttviko'kāmāt pañcaite karmahetavaḥ

[Renunciation is] tāmasika from connection to actions through delusion, suffering, fear, and the like; / rājasika [from pain], and sāttvika without desire. These five are the causes of action:

380.51

adhiṣṭhānaṃ tathā kartā karaṇañca pṛthagvidham
trividhāśca pṛthak ceṣṭā daivañcaivātra pañcamam

the seat [of action], likewise the agent, the various organs of action, / the various distinct endeavors, and fate as the fifth here.

380.52

ekaṃ jñānaṃ sāttvikaṃ syāt pṛthag jñānantu rājasam
atattvārthantāmasaṃ syāt karmākāmāya sāttvikam

Knowledge [seeing one reality] is sāttvika, but knowledge [seeing] distinction is rājasika; / that devoid of truth is tāmasika. Action without desire is sāttvika;

380.53

kāmāya rājasaṃ karma mohāt karma tu tāmasam
sīdhyasiddhyoḥ samaḥ kartā sāttviko rājaso'tyapi

action for desire is rājasika, while action out of delusion is tāmasika. / The agent who is impartial in success and failure is sāttvika; [passionate] is rājasika;

380.54

śaṭho'lasastāmasaḥ syāt kāryādidhīśca sāttvikī
kāryārthaṃ sā rājasī syādviparītā tu tāmasī

crooked and lazy is tāmasika. The intellect discerning duty and non-duty is sāttvika; / that [interpreting duty] for self-interest is rājasika, while that inverted is tāmasika.

380.55

manodhṛtiḥ sāttvikī syāt prītikāmeti rājasī
tāmasī tu praśokādau mukhaṃ sattvāttadantagam

Resolve of the mind is sāttvika; that pursuing pleasure and desire is rājasika; / but that [persisting] in grief and the like is tāmasika. Happiness arising from sattva reaches its end [in bliss];

380.56

sukhaṃ tadrājasañcāgre ante duḥkhantu tāmasam
ataḥ pravṛttirbhūtānāṃ yena sarvamidantatam

that pleasure is rājasika [like nectar] at first, but tāmasika brings suffering at the end. / From him is the activity of beings, by whom all this is pervaded;

380.57

svakarmaṇā tamabhyarcya viṣṇuṃ siddhiñca vindati
karmaṇā manasā vācā sarvāvasthāsu sarvadā

by worshiping Viṣṇu through one's own duty, one attains perfection— / by action, mind, and speech in all states at all times.

380.58

brahmādistambhaparyantaṃ jagadviṣṇuñca vetti yaḥ
siddhimāpnoti bhagavadbhakto bhāgavato dhruvam

He who knows the universe from Brahmā down to a tuft of grass as Viṣṇu, / devoted to the Lord, a devotee of the Bhagavat, surely attains perfection.

380.58.p1

ityāgneye mahāpurāṇe gītāsāro nāmāśītyadhikatriśatatamo'dhyāyaḥ