Bhagavatapurana 1.6: atha ṣaṣṭho'dhyāyaḥ

1.6.1

/0 sūta uvāca
evaṃ niśamya bhagavān devarṣerjanma karma ca /
bhūyaḥ papraccha taṃ brahman vyāsaḥ satyavatīsutaḥ //

Sūta said:

Suta said:—O Brahmin, having thus heard the story of the birth and deeds of the divine sage (Narada), the glorious Vyasa, son of Satyavati, again inquired, (as follows):

1.6.2

/0 vyāsa uvāca
bhikṣubhirvipravasite vijñānādeṣṭṛbhistava /
vartamāno vayasyādye tataḥ kim akarodbhavān //

Vyāsa said:

2. Vyasa said:—“After the ascetics that imparted thee higher knowledge had gone away, what didst thou do, as thou wast still of tender age?

1.6.3

svāyambhuva kayā vṛttyā vartitaṃ te paraṃ vayaḥ /
kathaṃ cedam udasrākṣīḥ kāle prāpte kalevaram //

O son of Brahmā, by what mode of life did you pass the rest of your age?

3. “O sage born of Swayambhu! how didst thou spend the latter (remaining) portion of they life, and how didst thou cast off this body when the hour came?

1.6.4

prākkalpaviṣayām etāṃ smṛtiṃ te munisattama /
na hyeṣa vyavadhāt kāla eṣa sarvanirākṛtiḥ //

O best of sages, how is it that this memory belonging to a previous cosmic age

4. Foremost of the *Suras* (the wise), how did Time fail to obscure in thee thy memory of a previous life? For, it is the destroyer of everything, (time is the obliterator of everything).

1.6.5

/0 nārada uvāca
bhikṣubhirvipravasite vijñānādeṣṭṛbhirmama /
vartamāno vayasyādye tata etadakāraṣam //

Nārada said:

5. Narada said:—When the ascetics that gave me the precepts of true knowledge had gone away, young as I was, I proceeded thereafter in this manner (the following is the account of the rest of my life).

1.6.6

ekātmajā me jananī yoṣin mūḍhā ca kiṅkarī /
mayyātmaje 'nanyagatau cakre snehānubandhanam //

My mother, a maidservant, simple-minded and a woman with an only son,

6. My mother had but one son (in me); she was an ignorant woman—a servant; she cherished great affection towards me (doted upon me) her son, otherwise helpless.

1.6.7

sāsvatantrā na kalpāsīdyogakṣemaṃ mamecchatī /
īśasya hi vaśe loko yoṣā dārumayī yathā //

Dependent herself, wishing for my welfare, she was not capable [of securing it];

7. She was anxious about my welfare and success, but incapable (of doing anything); for she was a dependant. Indeed, the world rests in the power of the Lord (master), just as a wooden puppet is (in the hands of a wire-puller).

1.6.8

ahaṃ ca tadbrahmakule ūṣivāṃstadupekṣayā /
digdeśakālāvyutpanno bālakaḥ pañcahāyanaḥ //

And I lived in that brāhmaṇa family dependent on her,

8. And not knowing anything of direction, place and time, (not having attained to the age of discretion), a mere boy of five years of age, I lived on in that Brahmin house for her sake.

1.6.9

ekadā nirgatāṃ gehādduhantīṃ niśi gāṃ pathi /
sarpo 'daśat padā spṛṣṭaḥ kṛpaṇāṃ kālacoditaḥ //

Once, having gone out from the house at night on the road to milk a cow,

9. Once during the night she went out of the house to milk the cow; on her path lay a serpent on which she set her foot, and which, prompted by fate, bit the helpless woman (and she died of it).

1.6.10

tadā tadaham īśasya bhaktānāṃ śam abhīpsataḥ /
anugrahaṃ manyamānaḥ prātiṣṭhaṃ diśam uttarām //

Then, regarding that as a favor from the Lord

10. Then I looked upon it as the grace of the Lord ever mindful of the welfare of His devotees, and I set out towards the north.

1.6.11

sphītāñ janapadāṃstatra puragrāmavrajākarān /
kheṭakharvaṭavāṭīśca vanānyupavanāni ca //

Through prosperous countries, cities, villages, cowherd settlements, mines,

11. All alone I went past prosperous countries, cities, villages, hamlets, mining centres, and agricultural parts, villages, and mountain slopes, arbours, woods and gardens;

1.6.12

citradhātuvicitrādrīn ibhabhagnabhujadrumān /
jalāśayāñ chivajalān nalinīḥ surasevitāḥ //

hills varied with diverse minerals, trees whose branches were broken by elephants,

12. I passed by mountains containing metallic earths of wonderful varieties, and by trees with branches broken by elephants, by lakes of crystal waters and lotus-lakes frequented by the gods,—lakes of imposing beauty where bees hover about disturbed by birds of wonderful notes.

1.6.13

citrasvanaiḥ patrarathairvibhramadbhramaraśriyaḥ /
nalaveṇuśarastanba kuśakīcakagahvaram //

beautified by wandering bees and birds of diverse cries,

13—14. I came in sight of a great forest impassably dense with rushes, bamboos and reeds, Kuśa and bamboos of the Keechaka variety, fierce and formidable, the abode of venomous serpents, owls and jackals.

1.6.14

eka evātiyāto 'ham adrākṣaṃ vipinaṃ mahat /
ghoraṃ pratibhayākāraṃ vyālolūkaśivājiram //

all alone, I passed through and saw a vast forest,

1.6.15

pariśrāntendriyātmāhaṃ tṛṭparīto bubhukṣitaḥ /
snātvā pītvā hrade nadyā upaspṛṣṭo gataśramaḥ //

My senses and body exhausted, seized by thirst and hungry,

15. With my body and senses exhausted, overcome by hunger and thirst, I bathed in the pool of a river, drank of it, made Achamana and was refreshed.

1.6.16

tasmin nirmanuje 'raṇye pippalopastha āśritaḥ /
ātmanātmānam ātmasthaṃ yathāśrutam acintayam //

In that uninhabited forest, seated at the base of a peepal tree,

16. In that forest unknown to man, I sat down under a Pippala tree, and in the manner I had learnt from the sages, I meditated on the Paramatman present in my heart, with all the power of my understanding.

1.6.17

dhyāyataścaraṇāmbhojaṃ bhāvanirjitacetasā /
autkaṇṭhyāśrukalākṣasya hṛdyāsīn me śanairhariḥ //

As I meditated on his lotus feet with a mind conquered by devotional emotion,

17. When I contemplated His lotus-like feet with my heart immersed in devotion, and when my eyes were filled with tears of eager love of Hari, He slowly appeared unto me in my mind.

1.6.18

premātibharanirbhinna pulakāṅgo 'tinirvṛtaḥ /
ānandasamplave līno nāpaśyam ubhayaṃ mune //

With limbs thrilling from the intense surge of love, deeply contented,

18. My hair standing on end on account of overflowing love, immersed in bliss and free from all anxiety, I saw neither self nor anything else, O Sage.

1.6.19

rūpaṃ bhagavato yat tan manaḥkāntaṃ śucāpaham /
apaśyan sahasottasthe vaiklavyāddurmanā iva //

No longer seeing that form of the Lord, charming to the mind and removing grief,

19. (Then) losing sight of that glorious Lord—a sight which delights the heart and dispels grief, I rose in bewilderment drooping like a man of afflicted heart.

1.6.20

didṛkṣustadahaṃ bhūyaḥ praṇidhāya mano hṛdi /
vīkṣamāṇo 'pi nāpaśyam avitṛpta ivāturaḥ //

Desiring to see it again, concentrating my mind in the heart,

20. I again concentrated my mind on my own heart (within myself) with the desire of again seeing that Form, and

looked for it, but I did not see it; being thus disappointed of my wish, I was like one stricken with some disease.

1.6.21

evaṃ yatantaṃ vijane mām āhāgocaro girām /
gambhīraślakṣṇayā vācā śucaḥ praśamayann iva //

To me striving thus in solitude, He who is beyond the reach of speech spoke

21. To me thus endeavouring in this lonely forest, the Invisible, the One beyond words, speaks (spoke) in sublime yet soft words as if to soothe me in my grief.

1.6.22

hantāsmiñ janmani bhavān mā māṃ draṣṭum ihārhati /
avipakvakaṣāyāṇāṃ durdarśo 'haṃ kuyoginām //

‘Alas, in this birth you are not fit to see me here;

22. It is a pity thou art not in this life fit to behold Me; for, I am not accessible to (the vision of) those whose sins and passions are not burnt up, and those who have not properly practised the Yoga.

1.6.23

sakṛdyaddarśitaṃ rūpam etat kāmāya te 'nagha /
matkāmaḥ śanakaiḥ sādhu sarvān muñcati hṛcchayān //

This form has been shown to you once, O sinless one, to awaken your desire;

23. That I once showed you My form is (only) on account of your intense desire for it, O sinless one; love constantly and intensely cherished, towards Me slowly cleanses the heart of all corrupting passions.

1.6.24

satsevayādīrghayāpi jātā mayi dṛḍhā matiḥ /
hitvāvadyam imaṃ lokaṃ gantā majjanatām asi //

Through service to the virtuous devotees, even for a short time, firm thought on me has arisen;

24. Through a short course of service done to the righteous, this firm devotion to Me has arisen in you. After casting off this decaying body you will attain to the state of being My attendant.

1.6.25

matirmayi nibaddheyaṃ na vipadyeta karhicit /
prajāsarganirodhe 'pi smṛtiśca madanugrahāt //

This thought fixed on me will never perish;

25. The mind so centred in Me shall never lose the benefit (of such devotion), during creation or destruction; and through My grace your memory will not fail you.

1.6.26

etāvaduktvopararāma tan mahad bhūtaṃ nabholiṅgam aliṅgam īśvaram /
ahaṃ ca tasmai mahatāṃ mahīyase śīrṣṇāvanāmaṃ vidadhe 'nukampitaḥ //

Having spoken thus, that great Being, whose mark is the sky and who is without form, the Lord, fell silent;

26. Having said but this, that great Being became silent—that Being of ethereal body, (not marked by any visible sign), yet the Ruler of every thing; and to that Great Being, Greater than the Great, I, being thus the object of His grace, bow down My head.

1.6.27

nāmānyanantasya hatatrapaḥ paṭhan guhyāni bhadrāṇi kṛtāni ca smaran /
gāṃ paryaṭaṃstuṣṭamanā gataspṛhaḥ kālaṃ pratīkṣan vimado vimatsaraḥ //

Reciting the names of the Infinite without shame, and remembering his secret and auspicious deeds,

27. Without any feeling of shyness (hesitation), with a heart satisfied, free from desires, pride and envy, and looking forward to the time (when I should cast off this body), I wandered about (loudly) repeating the secret and auspicious names of the immeasurable Lord, and remembering (contemplating) His secret and auspicious deeds:—

1.6.28

evaṃ kṛṣṇamaterbrahman nāsaktasyāmalātmanaḥ /
kālaḥ prādurabhūt kāle taḍit saudāmanī yathā //

Thus, O brāhmaṇa, for one whose mind was fixed on Kṛṣṇa, unattached, with a pure mind,

28. O Brahmin, to me with the mind (thus) set on Krishna, unattached to worldly things, death came, just as the flash of lightning appears in time.

1.6.29

prayujyamāne mayi tāṃ śuddhāṃ bhāgavatīṃ tanum /
ārabdhakarmanirvāṇo nyapatat pāñcabhautikaḥ //

While being endowed with that pure, divine body,

29. When into that pure and divine (holy) body I was being transferred, the gross body of the five Bhutas fell off, all the Prarabdha Karma being exhausted.

1.6.30

kalpānta idam ādāya śayāne 'mbhasyudanvataḥ /
śiśayiṣoranuprāṇaṃ viviśe 'ntarahaṃ vibhoḥ //

At the end of the cosmic age, entering into the breath of the all-pervading Lord

30. I entered along with His breath into Brahma (Chaturmukha) who was about to retire into the Supreme Being, when at the end (during the deluge), He sleeps on the waters of the sea, (having withdrawn all this world into Himself).

1.6.31

sahasrayugaparyante utthāyedaṃ sisṛkṣataḥ /
marīcimiśrā ṛṣayaḥ prāṇebhyo 'haṃ ca jajñire //

At the end of a thousand yugas, when he arose wishing to create this [universe],

31. When at the end of a thousand yugas He rose and proceeded to create (the world again), the great Marichi and other Rishis and myself were born of His senses.

1.6.32

antarbahiśca lokāṃstrīn paryemyaskanditavrataḥ /
anugrahān mahāviṣṇoravighātagatiḥ kvacit //

Inside and outside I wander through the three worlds, unbroken in my vows,

32. In and out of the three worlds I make my rounds with my vows of Brahmacharya uninterrupted in the least ; and by the grace of the Great Vishnu my passage is nowhere obstructed.

1.6.33

devadattām imāṃ vīṇāṃ svarabrahmavibhūṣitām /
mūrcchayitvā harikathāṃ gāyamānaścarāmyaham //

Vibrating this lute given by the gods, adorned with the Brahman of sound,

33. I go about playing upon this Veena bestowed upon me by the Lord, excellent as being the abode of Swara-Brahma (all the seven swaras), singing the praises of Hari.

1.6.34

pragāyataḥ svavīryāṇi tīrthapādaḥ priyaśravāḥ /
āhūta iva me śīghraṃ darśanaṃ yāti cetasi //

When I sing his prowess, he whose fame is dear and whose feet are holy

34. As I sing of the Lord of Holy feet, of His delightful (admirable) deeds, that are fit to be told and heard, He soon reveals Himself in my heart, as if He heard my call.

1.6.35

etaddhyāturacittānāṃ mātrāsparśecchayā muhuḥ /
bhavasindhuplavo dṛṣṭo haricaryānuvarṇanam //

Indeed, for those whose minds are agitated by the perpetual desire for sensory contact,

35. This relation of the deeds of Hari is indeed (observed to be) a ship to cross the sea of Samsara for those who are afflicted at heart by a thirst for the pleasures of the world.

1.6.36

yamādibhiryogapathaiḥ kāmalobhahato muhuḥ /
mukundasevayā yadvat tathātmāddhā na śāmyati //

The self, constantly struck by desire and greed, does not find true peace through yoga paths such as the restraints,

36. The mind which is frequently tossed by the passions of Kama and Lobha does not so directly and surely attain calmness by means of yoga courses consisting of yama and other practices, as it does by the worship of (devotion to) Mukunda.

1.6.37

sarvaṃ tadidam ākhyātaṃ yat pṛṣṭo 'haṃ tvayānagha /
janmakarmarahasyaṃ me bhavataścātmatoṣaṇam //

All this has been related to you as I was asked, O sinless one,

37. O sinless one, I have told you to your satisfaction all about this,—the secret of the births and deeds of the Lord,—all that you asked me about.

1.6.38

/0 sūta uvāca
evaṃ sambhāṣya bhagavān nārado vāsavīsutam /
āmantrya vīṇāṃ raṇayan yayau yādṛcchiko muniḥ //

Sūta said:

38. Suta said:—"Having thus spoken to the son of Vasavi (Vyasa), the worshipful Narada took leave, and, playing upon his Veena, went his way; for He is a sage who has no purpose of his own to gain.

1.6.39

aho devarṣirdhanyo 'yaṃ yatkīrtiṃ śārṅgadhanvanaḥ /
gāyan mādyann idaṃ tantryā ramayatyāturaṃ jagat //

Oh, blessed is this divine seer, who, singing the glory of the wielder of the Śārṅga bow

39. How blessed is this divine sage! who, ever singing the glory of Vishnu, is transported with it, and delights all this world by means of (by playing upon) his stringed instrument (Veena).