Bhagavatapurana 1.4: atha caturtho'dhyāyaḥ

1.4.1

/0 vyāsa uvāca
iti bruvāṇaṃ saṃstūya munīnāṃ dīrghasatriṇām /
vṛddhaḥ kulapatiḥ sūtaṃ bahvṛcaḥ śaunako 'bravīt //

Vyāsa said: / Praising Sūta as he was thus speaking, Śaunaka, / the aged leader of the assembly, well-versed in the Ṛgveda, among the sages engaged in the long sacrificial session, said:

1. Having highly complimented Suta who thus spoke, Saunaka the oldest of all the sages engaged in the long-extending yaga, the wisest of them (and hence) the master of all, versed in the Rig-Veda, said:

1.4.2

/0 śaunaka uvāca
sūta sūta mahābhāga vada no vadatāṃ vara /
kathāṃ bhāgavatīṃ puṇyāṃ yadāha bhagavāñ chukaḥ //

Śaunaka said: / O Sūta, Sūta, highly fortunate one, best among speakers, speak to us / the sacred narrative concerning the Lord, which the divine Śuka spoke.

2. “O Suta, highly blessed Suta, foremost among speakers, please tell us the sanctifying Divine story which the worshipful Suka told (Parikshit).”

1.4.3

kasmin yuge pravṛtteyaṃ sthāne vā kena hetunā /
kutaḥ sañcoditaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ kṛtavān saṃhitāṃ muniḥ //

In which age did this take place, in what place, or for what reason? / Prompted by whom did the sage Kṛṣṇa [Dvaipāyana] compose this compilation?

3. “In what Yuga or place, and for what purpose did that happen? By what and at whose instance was the sage Krishna Dwaipayana led to produce this Samhita (work)?”

1.4.4

tasya putro mahāyogī samadṛṅ nirvikalpakaḥ /
ekāntamatirunnidro gūḍho mūḍha iveyate //

His son was a great yogi, of equal vision, free from dualities, / of one-pointed mind, fully awake, hidden, appearing like a fool.

4. “His son, Suka, the great Yogin, who (always) sees the Sama (Brahman), and has ceased to perceive all differences, goes about, with his mind set upon the one thing, having risen

from the sleep of Maya, and hence unrecognised by the world, being taken for one that knows nothing."

1.4.5

dṛṣṭvānuyāntam ṛṣim ātmajam apyanagnaṃ devyo hriyā paridadhurna sutasya citram /
tadvīkṣya pṛcchati munau jagadustavāsti strīpumbhidā na tu sutasya viviktadṛṣṭeḥ //

Seeing the sage follow his naked son, the celestial maidens covered themselves out of modesty, but not for the son—how wonderful! / Seeing this, when the sage asked them, they replied: "You have the distinction of male and female, but not your son, whose vision is pure."

5. "On seeing the Rishi (Vyasa) coming behind his own son, though he was not naked, the ladies through modesty put on their cloaks; but curiously enough not when they saw (the naked person) of the son. When the sage Vyasa noticed this and asked them, they said," you are alive to the difference between man and woman, but not your son whose eyes are on that thing (Brahman) which is quite different from all the world.

1.4.6

katham ālakṣitaḥ pauraiḥ samprāptaḥ kurujāṅgalān /
unmattamūkajaḍavadvicaran gajasāhvaye //

How was he recognized by the citizens when he arrived in Kurujāṅgala, / wandering through Gajasāhvaya like one mad, mute, or inert?

6. "How did the citizens find him out when he came to the country of the Kurus and Jangalas and went about the city of Hastinapura, like one mad, dumb and dull?."

1.4.7

kathaṃ vā pāṇḍaveyasya rājarṣermuninā saha /
saṃvādaḥ samabhūt tāta yatraiṣā sātvatī śrutiḥ //

Or how did the conversation take place, dear friend, between the royal sage of the Pāṇḍu dynasty and the ascetic sage, / wherein arose this scripture of the Sātvatas?

7. Or how did this conversation come about between the royal sage, the heir of the Pandavas, and the sage Suka—the conversation which led to this Divine Discourse (Bhagavata Samhita)?

1.4.8

sa godohanamātraṃ hi gṛheṣu gṛhamedhinām /
avekṣate mahābhāgastīrthīkurvaṃstadāśramam //

Indeed, that illustrious one waited at the homes of householders only for the time it takes to milk a cow, / purifying their dwelling as a sacred place.

8. "The highly blessed sage pauses at the threshold of house-holders to purify their abodes, but for such a short time as is necessary for milking a cow (eighth part of a Muhurta).

1.4.9

abhimanyusutaṃ sūta prāhurbhāgavatottamam /
tasya janma mahāścaryaṃ karmāṇi ca gṛṇīhi naḥ //

They declare the son of Abhimanyu to be the foremost of Bhāgavatas, O Sūta; / his birth was wondrous, and please narrate to us his deeds.

9. "They say that (Parikshit) the son of Abhimanyu is a foremost votary of God. Sing to (please tell) us of his wonderful birth and deeds.

1.4.10

sa samrāṭ kasya vā hetoḥ pāṇḍūnāṃ mānavardhanaḥ /
prāyopaviṣṭo gaṅgāyām anādṛtyādhirāṭśriyam //

For what reason did that emperor, enhancer of the glory of the Pāṇḍus, / sit down to fast until death by the Gaṅgā, disregarding the fortune of an emperor?

10. "Being the king of kings, (capable of) enhancing the renown of the Pandavas,—why did he observe the vow of fasting and prepare for death at the Ganges, regardless of his imperial fortune?.

1.4.11

namanti yatpādaniketam ātmanaḥ śivāya hānīya dhanāni śatravaḥ /
kathaṃ sa vīraḥ śriyam aṅga dustyajāṃ yuvaiṣatotsraṣṭum aho sahāsubhiḥ //

Enemies brought wealth and bowed down at his dwelling-place for their own welfare; / how could that hero, still young, wish to cast away fortune, so hard to abandon, along with his very life?

11. "Why, beloved Suta, and how did that warrior, while yet a youth, make up his mind to throw away all that fortune as well as his life, hard to give up—a warrior at whose foot-board, indeed, enemies bowed down and poured all their wealth to ensure their welfare? It is really astonishing (inexplicable).

1.4.12

śivāya lokasya bhavāya bhūtaye ya uttamaślokaparāyaṇā janāḥ /
jīvanti nātmārtham asau parāśrayaṃ mumoca nirvidya kutaḥ kalevaram //

Those who are devoted to He of highest renown live for the welfare, prosperity, and good of the world, / not for their own sake; out of what detachment did he abandon his body, the refuge of others?

12. "Men devoted to the glorious Vasudeva, live, not for their own sake, but for (promoting) the happiness, wealth and power of the world: what moved such a warrior to renunciation and the casting off of the body which was the support of other beings.

1.4.13

tat sarvaṃ naḥ samācakṣva pṛṣṭo yadiha kiñcana /
manye tvāṃ viṣaye vācāṃ snātam anyatra chāndasāt //

Explain all that to us, whatever has been asked here; / I consider you well-versed in the domain of words, except for the Vedic hymns.

13. "Please tell us of all that we have enquired of you on

this subject. I know that you are deeply learned in all the lores other than the Vedas.

1.4.14

/0 sūta uvāca
dvāpare samanuprāpte tṛtīye yugaparyaye /
jātaḥ parāśarādyogī vāsavyāṃ kalayā hareḥ //

Sūta said: / When the Dvāpara age arrived, the third turning of the ages, / the yogi [Vyāsa] was born from Parāśara by the daughter of Vasu, as a plenary portion of Hari.

14. Suta said—When in the third turn of Yugas, the Dwapara came, the great yogin Vyasa who is an *Amsa* of Hari, was born of Parasara and Vasavi.

1.4.15

sa kadācit sarasvatyā upaspṛśya jalaṃ śuciḥ /
vivikta eka āsīna udite ravimaṇḍale //

Once, having touched the waters of the Sarasvatī and purified himself, / he was sitting alone in a secluded place as the sun's disk arose.

15. On a certain day he bathed in the sacred waters of the Saraswati, and at sunrise sat down alone in a secluded place (at a distance from the bustle of people.)

1.4.16

parāvarajñaḥ sa ṛṣiḥ kālenāvyaktaraṃhasā /
yugadharmavyatikaraṃ prāptaṃ bhuvi yuge yuge //

The sage, knowing what is past and future, perceived through time's imperceptible speed / the confusion of the duties of the ages occurring on earth in age after age,

16, 17, 18. The Rishi Vyasa who knows the Para Brahman and all else, who reads the past and the future, perceives by his divine vision how, on earth, age after age, by the subtle force of Time, dharmas of the age become changed and corrupted (promiscuously mixed up), how by its force the products of the five Bhutas deteriorate, how men become destitute of faith, energy, and intelligence and short-lived, and how men grow weaker, he considered what would be good to people of all Varnas and Asramas; for his divine vision never fails to see the truth.

1.4.17

bhautikānāṃ ca bhāvānāṃ śaktihrāsaṃ ca tatkṛtam /
aśraddadhānān niḥsattvān durmedhān hrasitāyuṣaḥ //

and the diminution of the capacity of material beings caused by that; / seeing people lacking in faith, bereft of vitality, of dull intellect, of shortened lifespan,

1.4.18

durbhagāṃśca janān vīkṣya munirdivyena cakṣuṣā /
sarvavarṇāśramāṇāṃ yaddadhyau hitam amoghadṛk //

and unfortunate, the sage of unfailing vision / contemplated through his divine eye what would be for the welfare of all varnas and āśramas.

1.4.19

cāturhotraṃ karma śuddhaṃ prajānāṃ vīkṣya vaidikam /
vyadadhādyajñasantatyai vedam ekaṃ caturvidham //

Seeing that the pure Vedic rite involving the four priests was for people, / he divided the single Veda into four for the continuity of sacrifice.

19, 20. Perceiving that the sacrificial duty with the four priests prescribed in the *Vedas* is the way to purity for men, he divided the one Veda into four for the sake of the uninterrupted tradition of sacrifices. The divisions thus restored of the Vedas are four, Ṛig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvan; Itihasas and Puranas are said to form the fifth Veda.

1.4.20

ṛgyajuḥsāmātharvākhyā vedāścatvāra uddhṛtāḥ /
itihāsapurāṇaṃ ca pañcamo veda ucyate //

Four Vedas were drawn forth, named the Ṛg, Yajus, Sāman, and Atharvan; / and the histories and Purāṇas are called the fifth Veda.

1.4.21

tatrargvedadharaḥ pailaḥ sāmago jaiminiḥ kaviḥ /
vaiśampāyana evaiko niṣṇāto yajuṣām uta //

Among them, Paila was the custodian of the Ṛgveda, the poet Jaimini the singer of the Sāmaveda, / and Vaiśampāyana alone was proficient in the Yajurveda.

21. There (among the pupils of Vyasa) Pila received the Rig-Veda, the learned Jaimini received the Sama Veda, and Vaisampayana was only one who was thoroughly versed in all the Yajus.

1.4.22

atharvāṅgirasām āsīt sumanturdāruṇo muniḥ /
itihāsapurāṇānāṃ pitā me romaharṣaṇaḥ //

Sumantu, the strict sage, was appointed over the Atharvāṅgirasa hymns; / my father, Romaharṣaṇa, was entrusted with the histories and Purāṇas.

22. The dread sage Sumantu was in charge of the Atharva-Veda, and my father Romaharshana was the repository of all the Itihasas and Puranas.

1.4.23

ta eta ṛṣayo vedaṃ svaṃ svaṃ vyasyann anekadhā /
śiṣyaiḥ praśiṣyaistacchiṣyairvedāste śākhino 'bhavan //

These sages divided their own respective Vedas in manifold ways; / through disciples, disciples' disciples, and their students, those Vedas became branched into schools.

23. These Rishis divided each Veda in their charge into various branches, and, through their pupils, pupils’ pupils and again the pupils of these, those Vedas came to be of many branches.

1.4.24

ta eva vedā durmedhairdhāryante puruṣairyathā /
evaṃ cakāra bhagavān vyāsaḥ kṛpaṇavatsalaḥ //

So that these very Vedas might be retained by men of dull intellect, / the divine Vyāsa, compassionate toward the distressed, acted in this way.

24. The glorious Vyasa, being compassionate to men of poor abilities, so arranged them that ordinary men of poor understanding might learn and retain them (in parts.)

1.4.25

strīśūdradvijabandhūnāṃ trayī na śrutigocarā /
karmaśreyasi mūḍhānāṃ śreya evaṃ bhavediha /
iti bhāratam ākhyānaṃ kṛpayā muninā kṛtam //

Women, Śūdras, and fallen twice-born are not eligible to hear the three Vedas; / that their welfare might be achieved here, confused as they are about the means to benefit through action, / the sage out of compassion composed the narrative of the Mahābhārata.

25. Seeing that the Vedas are not directly to be heard and studied by women, Sudras and fallen Brahmins, the sage has graciously written the Itihasa (Bharata) that those who are in this life ignorant of the course of duty leading to the final beatitude may thereby attain it.

1.4.26

evaṃ pravṛttasya sadā bhūtānāṃ śreyasi dvijāḥ /
sarvātmakenāpi yadā nātuṣyaddhṛdayaṃ tataḥ //

Though he was always engaged in this way in the welfare of all beings, O twice-born, / nevertheless, his heart was not satisfied in every respect.

26. O Brahmin, though he was always working thus for the good of beings with many objects in view, Vyasa's heart was not satisfied; he sat on the holy bank of the Saraswati with a mind and heart not quite serene;

1.4.27

nātiprasīdaddhṛdayaḥ sarasvatyāstaṭe śucau /
vitarkayan viviktastha idaṃ covāca dharmavit //

His heart not feeling fully pleased, on the pure bank of the Sarasvatī, / sitting in solitude and reflecting, he who knew dharma spoke thus:

27-29. And in solitude, he, the knower of Dharma, deeply considered and said to himself as follows:—"I have, in strict observance of Brahmacharya, paid due regard to the study of the Vedas, to the worship of preceptors and sacred fires; and with a sincere heart I have borne the commands of my preceptors; without any hope or fear I have expounded the meaning of the Vedas in the form of the Bharata, wherein Dharmas and other things are clearly seen (grasped) by women, sudras, and others.

1.4.28

dhṛtavratena hi mayā chandāṃsi guravo 'gnayaḥ /
mānitā nirvyalīkena gṛhītaṃ cānuśāsanam //

"Observing vows, indeed, the Vedic meters, the spiritual teachers, and the sacred fires / have been sincerely honored by me, and their instruction has been embraced.

1.4.29

bhāratavyapadeśena hyāmnāyārthaśca pradarśitaḥ /
dṛśyate yatra dharmādi strīśūdrādibhirapyuta //

And the meaning of the sacred tradition has been demonstrated under the guise of the Mahābhārata, / wherein dharma and the other aims of life are perceived even by women, Śūdras, and others."

1.4.30

tathāpi bata me daihyo hyātmā caivātmanā vibhuḥ /
asampanna ivābhāti brahmavarcasya sattamaḥ //

"Even so, alas, though endowed with the radiance of Brahman and foremost among the virtuous, / my embodied self seems unfulfilled to me by its own self."

30-32. "And* still my soul in this mortal frame though essentially perfect, seems not to have achieved the realisation, though I am foremost among those that have attained Brahmavarchasa; perhaps, I have not fully expounded the Dharmas (duties, etc.) in relation to the Lord in which the Parama Hamsas delight, since they are indeed the favoured of Achyuta." To the hermitage described above of Krishna Dwaipayana, who was thus feeling himself as if wanting in something and uneasy, full of dissatisfaction, Narada came.

1.4.31

kiṃ vā bhāgavatā dharmā na prāyeṇa nirūpitāḥ /
priyāḥ paramahaṃsānāṃ ta eva hyacyutapriyāḥ //

"Or have the dharmas of the Bhāgavatas not been fully set forth, / which are dear to the supreme ascetics, and indeed dear to Acyuta?"

1.4.32

tasyaivaṃ khilam ātmānaṃ manyamānasya khidyataḥ /
kṛṣṇasya nārado 'bhyāgādāśramaṃ prāg udāhṛtam //

While Kṛṣṇa [Dvaipāyana] was thus grieving, considering himself incomplete, / Nārada arrived at the hermitage mentioned before.

1.4.33

tam abhijñāya sahasā pratyutthāyāgataṃ muniḥ /
pūjayām āsa vidhivan nāradaṃ surapūjitam //

Recognizing him, the sage rose quickly to greet him as he arrived, / and worshiped Nārada, revered by the gods, according to rule.

33. Recognising the visitor to be Narada, the sage Vyasa instantly rose, went forth to meet him, and gave due reception to the sage (Narada) worshipped by the gods.