Bhagavatapurana 1.3: atha tṛtīyo'dhyāyaḥ

1.3.1

/0 sūta uvāca
jagṛhe pauruṣaṃ rūpaṃ bhagavān mahadādibhiḥ /
sambhūtaṃ ṣoḍaśakalam ādau lokasisṛkṣayā //

Sūta said:
In the beginning, desiring to create the worlds, the Lord assumed the cosmic form of the Person,
manifested by the mahat and the rest, possessing sixteen elements.

1. Suta said: “In the beginning, for the purpose of creating the world the Paramatman assumed the Purusha form with Mahat etc. (Mahat, Ahamkara, the five Tanmatras,) and the sixteen principles i.e., the eleven Indriyas and the five Bhutas.

1.3.2

yasyāmbhasi śayānasya yoganidrāṃ vitanvataḥ /
nābhihradāmbujādāsīdbrahmā viśvasṛjāṃ patiḥ //

As He lay on the waters, extending His yogic sleep,
from the lotus in the lake of His navel arose Brahmā, the lord of the creators of the universe.

2. And He is that Lord who was abiding on the waters (of Pralaya), who was in the sleep of Yoga or Samadhi, and out of the lotus growing from whose navel was born Brahma, the father of the progenitors of races of beings, (viz. Marichi, Atri, and other nine Prajapatis.)

1.3.3

yasyāvayavasaṃsthānaiḥ kalpito lokavistaraḥ /
tadvai bhagavato rūpaṃ viśuddhaṃ sattvam ūrjitam //

By the arrangement of whose limbs the expanse of the worlds is shaped,
that indeed is the form of the Lord: pure, robust purity.

3. On the disposition of the limbs of His Person, the worlds stand arranged. Such indeed is the essence (personality) of the all-powerful God, and it consists of the purest and unsurpassed Satva.

1.3.4

paśyantyado rūpam adabhracakṣuṣā sahasrapādorubhujānanādbhutam /
sahasramūrdhaśravaṇākṣināsikaṃ sahasramaulyambarakuṇḍalollasat //

They behold that form with unobstructed vision—wondrous with thousands of feet, thighs, arms, and faces,
with thousands of heads, ears, eyes, and noses, radiant with thousands of diadems, garments, and earrings.

4. Yogins by means of their powerful vision behold that Form which is most wondrous with thousands of feet, thighs and arms, thousands of heads, ears, eyes and noses, shining with thousands of crowns, robes and ear ornaments.

1.3.5

etan nānāvatārāṇāṃ nidhānaṃ bījam avyayam /
yasyāṃśāṃśena sṛjyante devatiryaṅnarādayaḥ //

This is the resting place, the imperishable seed of diverse incarnations,
by whose portions of portions the gods, animals, humans, and the rest are created.

5. This is the abode to which all return on the completion of the world’s work, and this is the unchanging seed (source) of His various Avataras; and with the Amsas of this Amsa, the gods, men, animals, etc., are created (through Brahma, Marichi, etc).

1.3.6

sa eva prathamaṃ devaḥ kaumāraṃ sargam āśritaḥ /
cacāra duścaraṃ brahmā brahmacaryam akhaṇḍitam //

That very Lord, in the beginning, resorting to the creation of the Kumāras,
as Brahmā practiced unbroken celibacy, difficult to perform.

6. The self-same Supreme Being first adopted Kaumara creation, and, becoming a Brahmana, (called Kumara) practised an austere and uninterrupted course of Brahmacharya.

1.3.7

dvitīyaṃ tu bhavāyāsya rasātalagatāṃ mahīm /
uddhariṣyann upādatta yajñeśaḥ saukaraṃ vapuḥ //

For the second [incarnation], to bring about prosperity for this [world], desiring to lift up the earth
that had sunk into the netherworld, the Lord of sacrifice assumed the body of a boar.

7. And the second avatara was intended for the creation of this world; (so), in order to raise the earth that had sunk to

Rasatala, the Lord of Yagnas assumed the form of the Boar (Varaha).

1.3.8

tṛtīyam ṛṣisargaṃ vai devarṣitvam upetya saḥ /
tantraṃ sātvatam ācaṣṭa naiṣkarmyaṃ karmaṇāṃ yataḥ //

In the third, the creation of the sages, attaining the state of divine sage,
He expounded the Sātvata scripture, from which comes freedom from the karmic reaction of actions.

8. In the third, He thought of creating Rishis; *i.e.* He assumed the form of a divine sage (Narada) propounded the Vaishnava sastra (the Pancharatra), inculcating that method of doing duties by which they do not become the source of Samsara, and by which Karma loses its (binding force).

1.3.9

turye dharmakalāsarge naranārāyaṇāvṛṣī /
bhūtvātmopaśamopetam akarodduścaraṃ tapaḥ //

In the fourth, the creation by a portion of Dharma, becoming the sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa,
He performed severe austerity characterized by inner peace of the self.

9. In the fourth, having created the partner *i.e.* wife of Dharma, He was born as two Rishis,—Nara and Narayana, and performed austere Tapas with perfect tranquillity of mind and control over the senses.

1.3.10

pañcamaḥ kapilo nāma siddheśaḥ kālaviplutam /
provācāsuraye sāṅkhyaṃ tattvagrāmavinirṇayam //

As the fifth, named Kapila, the master of perfected beings,
He expounded to Āsuri the Sāṅkhya philosophy, which determines the group of true principles, lost in the course of time.

10. The fifth Avatara was as Kapila, the Lord of Siddhas, who taught Asuri (the brahmana), the Sankhya sastra, obscured by time, which leads to a correct and conclusive understanding of the Tattvas (fundamental principles).

1.3.11

ṣaṣṭham atrerapatyatvaṃ vṛtaḥ prāpto 'nasūyayā /
ānvīkṣikīm alarkāya prahlādādibhya ūcivān //

In the sixth, having been requested, He became the son of Atri by Anasūyā,
and taught the science of inquiry to Alarka, Prahlāda, and others.

11. In the sixth He became Dattatreya, the son of Atri, as prayed for by him, without finding fault with the Rishi (for such a prayer), and taught Atmavidya (the true nature of the soul, etc.,) to King Alarka, Prahlada and other righteous men.

1.3.12

tataḥ saptama ākūtyāṃ ruceryajño 'bhyajāyata /
sa yāmādyaiḥ suragaṇairapāt svāyambhuvāntaram //

Then, as the seventh, Yajña was born to Ruci through Ākūti;
he protected the Svāyambhuva manvantara together with the gods such as the Yāmas.

12. Then the seventh :—He became Indra under the name Yagna, born of Ruchi Prajapati by Akuti ; and, waited upon by the gods (who were then) called Yamas, etc., (born as His own sons), directly undertook the protection (of the world) during the Manvantra of Swayambhuva.

1.3.13

aṣṭame merudevyāṃ tu nābherjāta urukramaḥ /
darśayan vartma dhīrāṇāṃ sarvāśramanamaskṛtam //

In the eighth, born of Merudevī to Nābhi, He of wide strides
showed the path honored by all stages of life, followed by the wise.

13. In the eighth, He (the all-pervading Lord) appeared as the son (named Rishabha) of Nabhi by Merudevi, and taught the wise by His example the Paramahamsa course, highly esteemed by (people of) all asramas.

1.3.14

ṛṣibhiryācito bheje navamaṃ pārthivaṃ vapuḥ /
dugdhemām oṣadhīrviprāstenāyaṃ sa uśattamaḥ //

Besought by the sages, He assumed the ninth body, that of a king;
O twice-born, he milked the herbs from this [earth], and thus became the most cherished.

14. Prayed to by Rishis, He assumed the ninth form as King Prithu who made this (Earth) yield all the plants

and herbs, and who, on that account, has, O Brahmins, become the most beloved (of the world).

1.3.15

rūpaṃ sa jagṛhe mātsyaṃ cākṣuṣodadhisamplave /
nāvyāropya mahīmayyām apādvaivasvataṃ manum //

He assumed the form of a fish at the inundation of the ocean during the Cākṣuṣa [manvantara],
and, placing Vaivasvata Manu on a boat consisting of the earth, protected him.

15. During the deluge of *Chakshusha Manvantara*, He assumed the form of a *Fish* and saved *Satyavrata* (the future *Vaivasvatamanu*) by taking him on board the ship into which the earth was transformed.

1.3.16

surāsurāṇām udadhiṃ mathnatāṃ mandarācalam /
dadhre kamaṭharūpeṇa pṛṣṭha ekādaśe vibhuḥ //

In the eleventh, as the gods and demons were churning the ocean,
the all-pervading Lord, in the form of a tortoise, bore the Mandara mountain on His back.

16. In the eleventh *Avatara* in the form of a *Tortoise*, He, the Omnipotent Lord, supported on his back the mountain of *Mandara*, when the *Suras* and *Asuras* churned the sea.

1.3.17

dhānvantaraṃ dvādaśamaṃ trayodaśamam eva ca /
apāyayat surān anyān mohinyā mohayan striyā //

In the twelfth, He took the form of Dhanvantari; and in the thirteenth,
bewildering the others as the enchanting woman Mohinī, He made the gods drink [the nectar].

17. The twelfth *Avatara* was as *Dhanvantari*; and in the thirteenth by His female form *Mohini*, He deluded the Asuras and gave the gods nectar to drink.

1.3.18

caturdaśaṃ nārasiṃhaṃ bibhraddaityendram ūrjitam /
dadāra karajairūrāverakāṃ kaṭakṛdyathā //

Assuming the fourteenth, the man-lion form, He tore apart the powerful king of demons
on His thighs with His claws, just as a mat-maker tears a reed.

18. Assuming the fourteenth form as *Narasimha*, He tore with his nails the bosom of the powerful Asura king (Hiranyakasipu), even as a mat-maker tears the stalks of grass.

1.3.19

pañcadaśaṃ vāmanakaṃ kṛtvāgādadhvaraṃ baleḥ /
padatrayaṃ yācamānaḥ pratyāditsustripiṣṭapam //

Assuming the fifteenth, the form of a dwarf, He went to Bali's sacrifice,
begging for three paces of land, wishing to regain the three worlds.

19. In the fifteenth, He assumed the form of *Vamana* (the Dwarf), and went to the sacrifice of Bali asking for three feet of ground, for the purpose of recovering Swarga (for Indra).

1.3.20

avatāre ṣoḍaśame paśyan brahmadruho nṛpān /
triḥsaptakṛtvaḥ kupito niḥkṣatrām akaron mahīm //

In the sixteenth incarnation, seeing the kings hostile to the brāhmaṇas,
enraged, He rid the earth of the kṣatriya class thrice seven times.

20. In the sixteenth *Avatara*, He observed the (Kshatriya) Kings to be enemies to Righteousness, and, enraged at them, thrice seven times He rid the earth of Kshatriyas.

1.3.21

tataḥ saptadaśe jātaḥ satyavatyāṃ parāśarāt /
cakre vedataroḥ śākhā dṛṣṭvā puṃso 'lpamedhasaḥ //

Then, in the seventeenth, born to Satyavatī from Parāśara,
seeing that people had dull intellects, He made branches of the Veda-tree.

21. Then in the seventeenth, He became Vyasa, the son of *Parasara* and *Satyavati*; and seeing that men were of poor intellect, He divided the Tree of Vedas into many branches.

1.3.22

naradevatvam āpannaḥ surakāryacikīrṣayā /
samudranigrahādīni cakre vīryāṇyataḥ param //

Attaining the status of a divine man in His desire to accomplish the work of the gods,
thereafter He performed heroic deeds such as subduing the ocean.

22. Then again in the eighteenth, to achieve the purpose of the gods, He became the Lord of men (King Rama) and did heroic feats, (subduing the sea and the like.).

1.3.23

ekonaviṃśe viṃśatime vṛṣṇiṣu prāpya janmanī /
rāmakṛṣṇāviti bhuvo bhagavān aharadbharam //

In the nineteenth and twentieth, obtaining births among the Vṛṣṇis
as Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, the Lord removed the burden of the earth.

23. In the nineteenth and twentieth Avatars, the glorious Lord appeared among the Vrishnis, as Balarama and Krishna, and took off the burden of the earth.

1.3.24

tataḥ kalau sampravṛtte sammohāya suradviṣām /
buddho nāmnāñjanasutaḥ kīkaṭeṣu bhaviṣyati //

Then, when the Kali age has commenced, for the purpose of bewildering the enemies of the gods,
He will appear in the Kīkaṭa regions as Buddha by name, son of Añjanā.

24. Next, when the age of Kali sets in, He will become the son of Anjana (Ajana), Buddha by name, (or Jina), in the land of Kikatas, for the purpose of deluding the god's enemies.

1.3.25

athāsau yugasandhyāyāṃ dasyuprāyeṣu rājasu /
janitā viṣṇuyaśaso nāmnā kalkirjagatpatiḥ //

Then, at the twilight of the age, when kings have become virtually bandits,
this Lord of the universe will be born to Viṣṇuyaśas, Kalki by name.

25. Next, at the juncture of the two Yugas when Kings will mostly be thieves, the Supreme Lord of the world will be born of a Brahmin, Vishnu Yasas, under the name of Kalki. 26. The Avataras of Hari, the abode of all power (Satva), are countless indeed, O Brahmins, just as thousands of currents flow from a lake that never dries (and is ever full.)

1.3.26

avatārā hyasaṅkhyeyā hareḥ sattvanidherdvijāḥ /
yathāvidāsinaḥ kulyāḥ sarasaḥ syuḥ sahasraśaḥ //

Countless indeed, O twice-born, are the incarnations of Hari, the reservoir of purity,
just as thousands of channels flow from an inexhaustible lake.

1.3.27

ṛṣayo manavo devā manuputrā mahaujasaḥ /
kalāḥ sarve harereva saprajāpatayaḥ smṛtāḥ //

The sages, Manus, gods, the sons of Manu endowed with great power,
together with the Prajāpatis, are all declared to be portions of Hari alone.

27. The Rishis, the saints, the gods, and the sons of Manus, who are all of great power, are known to be Kalas or parts of Hari himself ; as also are the nine Prajapatis.

1.3.28

ete cāṃśakalāḥ puṃsaḥ kṛṣṇastu bhagavān svayam /
indrārivyākulaṃ lokaṃ mṛḍayanti yuge yuge //

These are portions and plenary expansions of the Person, but Kṛṣṇa is the Lord Himself;
they grant happiness age after age to the world troubled by the enemies of Indra.

28. All these are forms of the Supreme Being, some being amsas, and some His kalas, i.e. His powers ; but Sri Krishna is the identical Narayana, the Supreme Being of all power. All these avataras from age to age comfort the world harassed by the enemies of Indra.

1.3.29

janma guhyaṃ bhagavato ya etat prayato naraḥ /
sāyaṃ prātargṛṇan bhaktyā duḥkhagrāmādvimucyate //

A person who, with restrained mind and devotion, recites evening and morning
this secret birth of the Lord, is freed from the whole host of miseries.

29. Thus the birth (avatara) of the glorious Lord is a secret ; and so, the man who, morning and evening, having cleansed himself, devoutly sings (or reads this account), obtains release from this world of miseries.

1.3.30

etadrūpaṃ bhagavato hyarūpasya cidātmanaḥ /
māyāguṇairviracitaṃ mahadādibhirātmani //

Indeed, this form of the formless Lord, who is pure consciousness,
is fashioned in the self through the qualities of His creative power, beginning with the mahat and the rest.

30. This form of the all-powerful Lord of absolute Intelligence, who is indeed formless, is the creation of the qualities of Maya and Mahat and other principles, and it is imposed on Atman, (i.e. this is made to behave as if it were Atman).

1.3.31

yathā nabhasi meghaugho reṇurvā pārthivo 'nile /
evaṃ draṣṭari dṛśyatvam āropitam abuddhibhiḥ //

en:

31. Just as the clouds are mistaken for the sky, i.e. the qualities of the cloud are thought to be those of the sky and as the dust of the earth for the air ; so also the perceptible nature (of the gross world) is ascribed to the Seer (Supreme Being) by those who lack understanding .

1.3.32

ataḥ paraṃ yadavyaktam avyūḍhaguṇabṛṃhitam /
adṛṣṭāśrutavastutvāt sa jīvo yat punarbhavaḥ //

Beyond this is that unmanifest [form], unexpanded by the evolution of the gunas, / devoid of seen or heard realities; it is the individual soul, whence comes rebirth.

32. * Beyond this gross one, another body or form (also) is ascribed to Atman, which is subtle and unmanifest, constituted

of the undeveloped gunas of Prakriti; [though a real body is not proved by observation or by any other authority, still Jiva must be presumed to have an Upadhi or condition which is called Lingasareera]; for he, the Jiva, passes through many births; (otherwise, his going out of, coming back to, the gross body, etc., cannot be accounted for).

1.3.33

yatreme sadasadrūpe pratiṣiddhe svasaṃvidā /
avidyayātmani kṛte iti tadbrahmadarśanam //

When these two forms, gross and subtle, superimposed upon the self by ignorance, / are negated by self-awareness, that is the direct vision of Brahman.

33. * When, by force of such self-knowledge, these subtle and gross forms are recognised as the effect of Avidya attributed to Atman, and consequently when they are all shaken off, (when they are felt to be unreal), the Jiva then becomes Brahman only, which is nothing but consciousness.

1.3.34

yadyeṣoparatā devī māyā vaiśāradī matiḥ /
sampanna eveti vidurmahimni sve mahīyate //

When this divine creative power, whose intellect is rooted in enlightenment, desists, / one is fulfilled; thus they know that one is glorified in one's own greatness.

34. * If the omniscient Lord's sportful Maya that keeps in motion the wheel of the world, ceases to exist itself turning into Vidya or Spiritual knowledge, then the Jiva is considered by the wise, as one having attained to the state of Brahman; (then) he is blessed in his own glory, (the blissful essence of his own).

1.3.35

evaṃ ca janmāni karmāṇi hyakarturajanasya ca /
varṇayanti sma kavayo vedaguhyāni hṛtpateḥ //

In this way, indeed, the sages describe the births and deeds / of the non-doer and the unborn Lord of the heart, secrets of the Vedas.

35. * Thus, (as in the case of Jiva,) the wise describe (these) secrets told in the Vedas regarding the Lord of the heart (Antaryamin). The action of Him who does nothing, and the birth of Him who is the unborn.—

1.3.36

sa vā idaṃ viśvam amoghalīlaḥ sṛjatyavatyatti na sajjate 'smin /
bhūteṣu cāntarhita ātmatantraḥ ṣāḍvargikaṃ jighrati ṣaḍguṇeśaḥ //

Of unfailing divine play, He creates, preserves, and destroys this universe, yet is not attached to it; / hidden within all beings, self-governing, master of the six qualities, He experiences the six objects of sense.

36. Indeed, He (the Lord) whose sportful activities are full of purpose, creates, protects, and destroys (devours) all this world; but He has no attachment to it. The independent Lord, abiding (unseen) in all beings, seems to enjoy from a distance, as if it were a fragrance the objects of the six senses; for, He is the ruler of the six senses.

1.3.37

na cāsya kaścin nipuṇena dhātur avaiti jantuḥ kumanīṣa ūtīḥ /
nāmāni rūpāṇi manovacobhiḥ santanvato naṭacaryām ivājñaḥ //

No creature of poor intellect, even through cleverness, understands the ways of this Creator, / who weaves His names and forms through minds and words, just as an ignorant spectator fails to grasp an actor's performance.

37. No creature of poor and defective understanding can, by any skilful logic, (fully) understand the blessed and wonderful activities of this Maker who creates (the various and innumerable) names and forms, by His Thought (will) and words, just as an ignorant spectator cannot read through the performance of an actor .

1.3.38

sa veda dhātuḥ padavīṃ parasya durantavīryasya rathāṅgapāṇeḥ /
yo 'māyayā santatayānuvṛttyā bhajeta tatpādasarojagandham //

He alone knows the path of the supreme Creator, of boundless valor, holding the discus in His hand, / who would worship with unfeigned and continuous devotion the fragrance of His lotus feet.

38. Only he truly knows the ways of the Supreme Maker of unlimited power armed with *Chakra*, who, by sincere and unceasing devotion, seeks after (enjoys) the fragrance of His lotus-like feet.

1.3.39

atheha dhanyā bhagavanta itthaṃ yadvāsudeve 'khilalokanāthe /
kurvanti sarvātmakam ātmabhāvaṃ na yatra bhūyaḥ parivarta ugraḥ //

Therefore, fortunate are the worshipful who in this manner direct toward Vāsudeva, Lord of all the worlds, / their unreserved devotion of self, in which no fierce cycle of rebirth returns.

39. Because the devout alone can understand the truth of God, therefore you, O blessed ones, Saunaka, and others, you are happy and wise in the world; for (while) here, you have set your mind on Vasudeva, the Lord of the whole Universe; regarding Him to be all when the mind is so set on Him, this fearful cycle of worldly existence does not come again.

1.3.40

idaṃ bhāgavataṃ nāma purāṇaṃ brahmasammitam /
uttamaślokacaritaṃ cakāra bhagavān ṛṣiḥ //

This Purāṇa named the Bhāgavata, equal to the Veda, / recording the deeds of He of highest renown, was composed by the divine sage [Vyāsa].

40. The glorious sage Vyasa, composed (for the supreme good of the world) this Purana, well-known as the Bhagavata, equal to the Vedas, recounting the doings of the most glorious God.

1.3.41

niḥśreyasāya lokasya dhanyaṃ svastyayanaṃ mahat /
tadidaṃ grāhayām āsasutam ātmavatāṃ varam //

For the supreme good of the world, fortunate and bringing great blessing, / this very work he taught to his son, the foremost among those who possess self-realization.

41-42. He taught this work of high merit to his son (Suka), foremost among those that have realised Atman—the work which is great, the source of all that is good, most valuable

by the blessings it brings and intended to guide the world towards the highest purpose;—the Purana which consists of the essence extracted from the Vedas and the Itihasas.

1.3.42

sarvavedetihāsānāṃ sāraṃ sāraṃ samuddhṛtam /
sa tu saṃśrāvayām āsamahārājaṃ parīkṣitam //

Extracted as the very essence of all the Vedas and histories, / he recited it to the great king Parīkṣit,

42. And that son (Suka) in his turn explained it to the great King Parikshit—the King who observed the vow of fasting and sat up expecting Death, surrounded by great Rishis.

1.3.43

prāyopaviṣṭaṃ gaṅgāyāṃ parītaṃ paramarṣibhiḥ /
kṛṣṇe svadhāmopagate dharmajñānādibhiḥ saha //

who was fasting until death on the banks of the Gaṅgā, surrounded by supreme sages, / when Kṛṣṇa had departed for His own abode along with dharma, knowledge, and the rest.

1.3.44

kalau naṣṭadṛśām eṣa purāṇārko 'dhunoditaḥ /
tatra kīrtayato viprā viprarṣerbhūritejasaḥ //

For those whose vision is lost in the Kali age, this sun-like Purāṇa has now arisen. / As that sage among brahmins of immense splendor was narrating it there, O brahmins,

43. Brahmins, when the sage Suka of great glory expounded the Purana, at that place I was also present and by his grace I have learnt it.

1.3.45

ahaṃ cādhyagamaṃ tatra niviṣṭastadanugrahāt /
so 'haṃ vaḥ śrāvayiṣyāmi yathādhītaṃ yathāmati //

I too learned it, having sat there by his grace. / That very text I shall recite to you, as I have studied it and according to my understanding.

44. As such I shall in my turn expound it to you as I learnt it and as well as I have grasped it.