Bhagavatapurana 10.3: atha tṛtīyo'dhyāyaḥ

10.3.1

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
atha sarva-guṇopetaḥ kālaḥ parama-śobhanaḥ /
yarhy evājana-janmarkṣaṃ śāntarkṣa-graha-tārakam //

Śrī Śuka said:
Then came a supremely auspicious time, endowed with all favorable qualities, / at which the birth constellation of the unborn Lord appeared, with tranquil constellations, planets, and stars.

1. Sri Suka said:— Now came the time of all favourable aspects and most auspicious, when it was the Star of Rohini under which Prajapati was born, when all constellations, planets and stars wore peaceful aspects;

10.3.2

diśaḥ prasedur gaganaṃ nirmaloḍu-gaṇodayam /
mahī maṅgala-bhūyiṣṭha- pura-grāma-vrajākarā //

The directions grew serene, and the sky displayed a multitude of spotless stars; / the earth was filled with auspicious cities, villages, cowherd settlements, and mines.

2. When all the directions were peaceful, when the sky was covered with countless clusters of stars shining unobscured: when in the cities, towns, villages, hamlets and other places the earth revelled in her rejoicings with auspicious observances;

10.3.3

nadyaḥ prasanna-salilā hradā jalaruha-śriyaḥ /
dvijāli-kula-sannāda- stavakā vana-rājayaḥ //

The rivers flowed with clear waters; the lakes were glorious with water lilies; / and rows of forests bloomed with clusters of flowers resounding with flocks of birds and swarms of bees.

3. When the rivers flowed with crystal waters and pools shone lustrous with beautiful lotuses: when rows of trees in the woods bore clusters of flowers with howering swarms of humming bees and singing birds;

10.3.4

vavau vāyuḥ sukha-sparśaḥ puṇya-gandhavahaḥ śuciḥ /
agnayaś ca dvijātīnāṃ śāntās tatra samindhata //

A pure wind blew, pleasant to the touch and bearing sacred fragrance; / and the sacrificial fires of the twice-born, which had been extinguished, flared up brightly.

4. When the wind blew delightful to the sense of touch, pure and wafting welcome fragrance: when the smouldering fires maintained by the twice-born then burst into flames;

10.3.5

manāṃsy āsan prasannāni sādhūnām asura-druhām /
jāyamāne 'jane tasmin nedur dundubhayaḥ samam //

The minds of the virtuous devotees, persecuted by the asuras, became cheerful; / when that unborn Lord was being born, kettledrums sounded together.

5. When the minds of the good bent on the fall of Asuras as well as the gods grew serene; when in the celestial regions celestial drums were being beaten at the approaching Avatara of the Unborn;

10.3.6

jaguḥ kinnara-gandharvās tuṣṭuvuḥ siddha-cāraṇāḥ /
vidyādharyaś ca nanṛtur apsarobhiḥ samaṃ mudā //

The Kinnaras and Gandharvas sang; the Siddhas and Cāraṇas chanted praises; / and the Vidyādhara women danced joyfully together with the Apsarases.

6. When Kinnaras and Gandharvas sang, Siddhas and Charanas offered praises and Vidyadhara women along with Apsaras damsels danced;

10.3.7

mumucur munayo devāḥ sumanāṃsi mudānvitāḥ /
mandaṃ mandaṃ jaladharā jagarjur anusāgaram //

The sages and the gods, filled with joy, showered down blossoms; / and the clouds rumbled gently following the ocean.

7. When filled with joy the sages and the gods let fall flowers in showers and the clouds, while the sea roared, rumbled at a low pitch.

10.3.8

niśīthe tama-udbhūte jāyamāne janārdane /
devakyāṃ deva-rūpiṇyāṃ viṣṇuḥ sarva-guhā-śayaḥ /
āvirāsīd yathā prācyāṃ diśīndur iva puṣkalaḥ //

At midnight, when darkness had arisen, as Janārdana was being born / from Devakī of divine form, Viṣṇu, who dwells in the secret heart of all, / appeared like the full moon rising in the eastern quarter.

8. At mid-night, in the thickest darkness, Vishnu who dwells in every heart, revealed Himself, in His full glory like the full moon in the East, in His own supreme divine form, out of Devaki who was like unto a goddess, at a time when the people were being put to greatest afflictions.

10.3.9

tam adbhutaṃ bālakam ambujekṣaṇaṃ catur-bhujaṃ śaṅkha-gadādy-udāyudham /
śrīvatsa-lakṣmaṃ gala-śobhi-kaustubhaṃ pītāmbaraṃ sāndra-payoda-saubhagam //

That wondrous lotus-eyed child, four-armed, holding weapons upraised—conch, mace, and others— / marked with the Śrīvatsa, the Kaustubha gem shining on his neck, dressed in yellow silk, handsome as a dense rain-cloud,

9. That most wonderful child of lotus-like eyes, of four arms, bearing aloft Sankha, Gada, and Chakra (and other weapons), having the mark of Srivatsa (on his breast), with Kaustubha hanging graced by the neck, clothed in golden cloth (pitambara) and shining like the rain-bearing cloud,

10.3.10

mahārha-vaidūrya-kirīṭa-kuṇḍala- tviṣā pariṣvakta-sahasra-kuntalam /
uddāma-kāñcy-aṅgada-kaṅkaṇādibhir virocamānaṃ vasudeva aikṣata //

his abundant locks kissed by the radiance of earrings and a diadem set with priceless cat's-eye gems, / resplendent with an exquisite girdle, armlets, bracelets, and other ornaments, Vasudeva beheld.

10. With profuse locks of hair bathed in the bright rays of His crown and ear-rings set with invaluable gems; and radiantly charming with His most valuable and brilliant zone, angadas, bracelets and other ornaments— Vasudeva beheld.

10.3.11

sa vismayotphulla-vilocano hariṃ sutaṃ vilokyānakadundubhis tadā /
kṛṣṇāvatārotsava-sambhramo 'spṛśan mudā dvijebhyo 'yutam āpluto gavām //

His eyes wide with wonder at beholding Hari as his son, Ānakadundubhi then, / agitated with joy at the festival of Kṛṣṇa's incarnation, after bathing mentally gave ten thousand cows to the twice-born.

11. With eyes dilated from amazement Vasudeva looked at Hari appearing as his son and transported with delight on the joyous occasion of Krishna’s Avatara, bathed then and gladly, in his mind, gave ten thousand cows to brahmins.

10.3.12

athainam astaud avadhārya pūruṣaṃ paraṃ natāṅgaḥ kṛta-dhīḥ kṛtāñjaliḥ /
sva-rociṣā bhārata sūtikā-gṛhaṃ virocayantaṃ gata-bhīḥ prabhāva-vit //

Then, having realized that he was the Supreme Person, with bent limbs, collected mind, and folded hands, / his fear dispelled as he knew his power, O descendant of Bharata, he praised him who was illuminating the lying-in chamber with his own radiance.

12. Well aware of the greatness of the Lord who brightened the house of His birth with His own lustre, Vasudeva realised Him to be the Perfect and Supreme Person, O son of Bharatas, and then fearlessly, and with folded hands, with a pure heart and with his body bent in humility, offered his praise.

10.3.13

/0 śrī-vasudeva uvāca
vidito 'si bhavān sākṣāt puruṣaḥ prakṛteḥ paraḥ /
kevalānubhavānanda- svarūpaḥ sarva-buddhi-dṛk //

Śrī Vasudeva said:
You are known to be the Supreme Person himself, beyond material nature, / whose very nature is the bliss of pure realization, who perceives the intellects of all.

13. Vasudeva said:— "Already known to me Thou art, the very Supreme Person far higher than, and distinct, from Prakriti, and art the embodiment of absolute wisdom and blissfulness and the seer (witness) of all minds.

10.3.14

sa eva svaprakṛtyedaṃ sṛṣṭvāgre tri-guṇātmakam /
tad anu tvaṃ hy apraviṣṭaḥ praviṣṭa iva bhāvyase //

Having in the beginning created through your own nature this [universe] consisting of the three qualities, / you then appear to have entered it, though you have not entered at all.

14. "Really of the above-said absolute nature Thou didst in the beginning create this Universe of three gunas through Thy own Maya. Thou hast not indeed entered into it: yet Thou art looked upon as having entered it.

10.3.15

yatheme 'vikṛtā bhāvās tathā te vikṛtaiḥ saha /
nānā-vīryāḥ pṛthag-bhūtā virājaṃ janayanti hi //

Just as these unevolved elements, along with their evolutes, / possessing diverse potencies and remaining separate, produce the cosmic form,

15. "Just as these, Mahat and other principles of unmodified essence, exist in the beginning and, along with their modifications severally of different properties, combine together and give rise to the Brahmanda;

10.3.16

sannipatya samutpādya dṛśyante 'nugatā iva /
prāg eva vidyamānatvān na teṣām iha sambhavaḥ //

combining and giving rise [to it], they appear to have entered into it, / yet there is no [actual] entrance for them into it, because they existed beforehand.

16. "Having thus brought about the Universe by their combination, they seem to have entered into it: but they do not enter it, since they exist as causes before creation;

10.3.17

evaṃ bhavān buddhy-anumeya-lakṣaṇair grāhyair guṇaiḥ sann api tad-guṇāgrahaḥ /
anāvṛtatvād bahir antaraṃ na te sarvasya sarvātmana ātma-vastunaḥ //

In this way, though You exist with perceptible qualities whose characteristics are inferred by the intellect, You do not grasp those qualities. / Because You are unobstructed, there is neither an outside nor an inside to You, the Self of all, the substance of reality.

17. "Similarly, though present along with the objects cognised by the senses which are in themselves known by way of inference from perceptions, Thou art not directly cognised along with those objects: for Thou hast no such distinction as within or without, because Thou art the Atman of everything, Thou art everything, and the All-pervading and absolutely true Essence.

10.3.18

ya ātmano dṛśya-guṇeṣu sann iti vyavasyate sva-vyatirekato 'budhaḥ /
vinānuvādaṃ na ca tan manīṣitaṃ samyag yatas tyaktam upādadat pumān //

The unwise man who resolves that the self exists in perceptible qualities apart from itself / does not possess deliberate insight without empty repetition, since such a person takes back up what has been properly cast away.

18. "He who concludes that, in the objects perceptible by Atman, there exists a real entity separate from Atman, is really an

ignorant man: for, the objective world, when investigated into, is nothing more than a matter of words, having no other essence at its bottom: hence is really a dunce the person who takes to be distinct and real, what is not, .

10.3.18.p1

tvatto 'sya janma-sthiti-saṃyamān vibho $ vadanty anīhād aguṇād avikriyāt &

They declare, O all-pervading Lord, that the birth, maintenance, and dissolution of this universe proceed from You, who are devoid of striving, without qualities, and changeless;

19. "The birth, the existence (preservation) and destruction of the Universe, say they, proceed from Thee that actest not, O Lord, art untouched by the gunas and subject to no modification; and this view is not incompatible in Thee, the Perfect Brahman and Supreme Ruler; for (their activity) by the (active) gunas which depend upon Thee only is attributed to Thee.

10.3.19

tvayīśvare brahmaṇi no virudhyate % tvad-āśrayatvād upacaryate guṇaiḥ //

in You, the sovereign Lord, Brahman, there is no contradiction, since [these activities] are metaphorically ascribed through the qualities because You are their foundation.

10.3.19.p2

sa tvaṃ tri-loka-sthitaye sva-māyayā $ bibharṣi śuklaṃ khalu varṇam ātmanaḥ &

That very You, for the preservation of the three worlds, by Your own creative power / assume indeed a white form of Your own;

20. "Thou of this glorious nature assumest indeed through Thy Maya, this pure white form for the protection of the three worlds, for their creation a red glowing form full of Rajas, and for their destruction a dark form through Tamas.

10.3.19.p3

sa tvaṃ tri-loka-sthitaye sva-māyayā $ bibharṣi śuklaṃ khalu varṇam ātmanaḥ &

That very You, for the preservation of the three worlds, by Your own creative power / assume indeed a white form of Your own;

10.3.20

sargāya raktaṃ rajasopabṛṃhitaṃ % kṛṣṇaṃ ca varṇaṃ tamasā janātyaye //

a red form augmented by passion for creation; / and a dark form through inertia at the destruction of all beings.

10.3.21

tvam asya lokasya vibho rirakṣiṣur gṛhe 'vatīrṇo 'si mamākhileśvara /
rājanya-saṃjñāsura-koṭi-yūthapair nirvyūhyamānā nihaniṣyase camūḥ //

Desiring to protect this world, O all-pervading Lord of all, You have descended into my home; / You will destroy the armies deployed by commanders of millions of demons posing as kings.

21. "O Lord, Supreme Ruler of all, Thou hast, with the purpose of protecting this world, made an Avatar in my house. Thou wilt put an end to the hosts led by innumerable *Asura* chiefs that go by the name of *Kshatriyas*.

10.3.21.p1

ayaṃ tv asabhyas tava janma nau gṛhe $ śrutvāgrajāṃs te nyavadhīt sureśvara &

Now this vulgar man, hearing of Your birth in our house, O Lord of the gods, / has slain Your elder brothers;

22. "Learning that Thou wilt be born in our house this villainous person has killed, O god of gods, Thy elder brothers, and he will certainly now rush in with his drawn sword, directly he is informed by his servants of Thy Avatara.

10.3.22

sa te 'vatāraṃ puruṣaiḥ samarpitaṃ % śrutvādhunaivābhisaraty udāyudhaḥ //

having just now heard Your incarnation reported by his men, / he approaches with weapons raised.

10.3.23

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
athainam ātmajaṃ vīkṣya mahā-puruṣa-lakṣaṇam /
devakī tam upādhāvat kaṃsād bhītā suvismitā //

Śrī Śuka said: / Then Devakī, beholding this child bearing the marks of the Supreme Person, / approached Him with prayer, terrified of Kaṃsa and deeply astonished.

23. Sri Suka said:— Next Devaki of happy smiles saw her son

to be the Supreme Person by His characteristics and, through fear of Kamsa, prayed to Him as follows.

10.3.24

/0 śrī-devaky uvāca
rūpaṃ yat tat prāhur avyaktam ādyaṃ $ brahma jyotir nirguṇaṃ nirvikāram &
rūpaṃ yat tat prāhur avyaktam ādyaṃ $ brahma jyotir nirguṇaṃ nirvikāram &
sattā-mātraṃ nirviśeṣaṃ nirīhaṃ % sa tvaṃ sākṣād viṣṇur adhyātma-dīpaḥ //

Śrī Devakī said: / That form which they call the unmanifest, primal Brahman, light, beyond qualities, changeless, / that form which they call the unmanifest, primal Brahman, light, beyond qualities, changeless, / pure existence, devoid of distinctions, without striving—that very One are You, Viṣṇu in person, the lamp of inner self.

24. Devaki said:— Truly that Supreme Lord Vishnu who art Thou, gives light to the mental faculties, whose essence, the wise say, is unmanifest, who is the first Cause, Perfect Brahman, intelligence, and destitute of gunas and modifications, of all attributes and of all activity and who is of mere existence.

10.3.25

* //
naṣṭe loke dvi-parārdhāvasāne mahā-bhūteṣv ādi-bhūtaṃ gateṣu /
vyakte 'vyaktaṃ kāla-vegena yāte bhavān ekaḥ śiṣyate 'śeṣa-saṃjñaḥ //

// / When the universe is destroyed at the end of two parārdhas, when the great elements have merged into their primal source, / and the manifest world has dissolved into the unmanifest by the swift rush of Time, You alone remain, known by the name of the Remainder.

25. When, at the close of the period called Dwiparardha, *i. e.* (the full length of the life of Brahma), the Universe, when the great Bhutas are absorbed into the first and subtle Bhuta and this subtle Bhuta, also an effect, is withdrawn into the unmanifest Principle by the velocity of Time, alone dost Thou remain with Thy consciousness, abiding in Pradhana which constitutes (enters into the constitution) [*i. e.*, conscious that all things merge into Him and also as to when they should be awakened into life].

10.3.25.p1

yo 'yaṃ kālas tasya te 'vyakta-bandho $ ceṣṭām āhuś ceṣṭate yena viśvam &

This Time, O friend of the unmanifest, is called an activity of Yours, / by which the universe is set in motion;

26. That Time as described is, O eternal Ruler of Prakriti, Thy own sportful activity, say the wise, by which activity the Universe is maintained in its cyclic moving state;— mighty Time commencing from a winking of the eye to the end of a Parardha--I resort to Thee that art the Supreme Ruler and the abode of security.

10.3.26

nimeṣādir vatsarānto mahīyāṃs % taṃ tveśānaṃ kṣema-dhāma prapadye //

beginning with the blink of an eye and ending with a year, immense— / to You, that sovereign Ruler, the abode of safety, I surrender.

10.3.27

martyo mṛtyu-vyāla-bhītaḥ palāyan lokān sarvān nirbhayaṃ nādhyagacchat /
tvat pādābjaṃ prāpya yadṛcchayādya susthaḥ śete mṛtyur asmād apaiti //

A mortal, terrified of the serpent of death and fleeing through all the worlds, could find no place free from fear; / having attained Your lotus feet by good fortune today, he rests at ease, and death departs from him.

27. Afraid of the serpent of death and running about all the worlds, the mortal man failed to find a place void of fear and, having, O first Being, by chance, (by Thy own will) reached the lotus of Thy feet, he rests in peace and security and Death has fled from him.

10.3.28

sa tvaṃ ghorād ugrasenātmajān nas trāhi trastān bhṛtya-vitrāsa-hāsi /
rūpaṃ cedaṃ pauruṣaṃ dhyāna-dhiṣṇyaṃ mā pratyakṣaṃ māṃsa-dṛśāṃ kṛṣīṣṭhāḥ //

Therefore protect us, frightened as we are, from the terrible son of Ugrasena, for You destroy the fear of Your servants; / and do not make this cosmic form, fit only for meditation, visible to the eyes of flesh.

28. Thou art the Supreme Lord and the one rescuer of Thy servants from fear; protect us, affrighted persons, from the cruel son of Ugrasena. And this form of Thine is of supreme nature, and worthy of being contemplated, pray, do Thou not make it manifest to the gross eyes of men (the eyes of flesh).

10.3.29

janma te mayy asau pāpo mā vidyān madhusūdana /
samudvije bhavad-dhetoḥ kaṃsād aham adhīra-dhīḥ //

May that wicked one not discover Your birth through me, O slayer of Madhu; / I am agitated on Your account, my mind faint with fear of Kaṃsa.

29. Let not this sinful Kamsa know of Thy birth of me, O Madhusudana; naturally timid I tremble at the name of Kamsa for Thy sake.

10.3.30

upasaṃhara viśvātmann ado rūpam alaukikam /
śaṅkha-cakra-gadā-padma- śriyā juṣṭaṃ catur-bhujam //

Withdraw, O Self of the universe, this unearthly form / endowed with four arms adorned with the splendor of the conch, discus, mace, and lotus.

30. May Thou, O Atman of the Universe, withdraw this superhuman form (from human sight), so superb with the brilliance of Sankha, Chakra, Gada and Lotus and the four arms.

10.3.31

viśvaṃ yad etat sva-tanau niśānte yathāvakāśaṃ puruṣaḥ paro bhavān /
bibharti so 'yaṃ mama garbhago 'bhūd aho nṛ-lokasya viḍambanaṃ hi tat //

You, the Supreme Person, who hold this entire universe within Your body at the end of a cosmic night according to the space available, / that very You have entered my womb! Ah, truly that is a playful imitation of the human world.

31. Thou art that Perfect Person who in His own personality holds all this Universe in fullest extent at the end of the night (during Pralaya); that the Almighty Lord was in my womb is a most wonderful act of imitating the mortal world.

10.3.32

/0 śrī-bhagavān uvāca
tvam eva pūrva-sarge 'bhūḥ pṛśniḥ svāyambhuve sati /
tadāyaṃ sutapā nāma prajāpatir akalmaṣaḥ //

The Lord said: / In a previous creation, during the era of Svāyambhuva, O chaste woman, you were indeed Pṛśni, / and at that time this [Vasudeva] was the faultless progenitor named Sutapas.

32. The Lord said:—In the previous life in the Swayambhuva period, your were Prisni, O chaste lady, this Vasudeva was then a Prajapati called Sutapas, free of faults.

10.3.33

yuvāṃ vai brahmaṇādiṣṭau prajā-sarge yadā tataḥ /
sanniyamyendriya-grāmaṃ tepāthe paramaṃ tapaḥ //

When both of you were commanded by Brahmā to create progeny, / you then restrained the aggregate of senses and performed supreme austerities.

33. To propogate the species you were, indeed, both commissioned by Brahma and thereupon, having controlled your senses, you practised very great tapas.

10.3.34

varṣa-vātātapa-hima- gharma-kāla-guṇān anu /
sahamānau śvāsa-rodha- vinirdhūta-mano-malau //

Enduring the properties of the seasons—rain, wind, heat, frost, and summer— / you had the impurities of your minds washed away by breath control.

34. Enduring in due course, rain, storm, severe sun, snow, heat, all peculiarities of the seasons, getting rid of every impurity of your mind by means of controlling your breaths:

10.3.35

śīrṇa-parṇānilāhārāv upaśāntena cetasā /
mattaḥ kāmān abhīpsantau mad-ārādhanam īhatuḥ //

Feeding on withered leaves and air, with tranquil minds, / desiring fulfillment of wishes from Me, you undertook My worship.

35. Living on withered leaves and on mere atmospheric air, with minds full of tranquility and actuated by a desire to obtain your wishes (for offering) from Me, you were always busy worshipping Me.

10.3.36

evaṃ vāṃ tapyatos tīvraṃ tapaḥ parama-duṣkaram /
divya-varṣa-sahasrāṇi dvādaśeyur mad-ātmanoḥ //

As you were thus performing intense and exceedingly difficult austerities, / twelve thousand celestial years passed, your minds absorbed in Me.

36. Thus passed away a twelve thousand divine years as you were with a mind wholly devoted to Me: performing austere and most difficult tapas in that manner.

10.3.37

tadā vāṃ parituṣṭo 'ham amunā vapuṣānaghe /
tapasā śraddhayā nityaṃ bhaktyā ca hṛdi bhāvitaḥ //

Then, O sinless woman, I was delighted with you both through this very form, / having been constantly contemplated in your hearts through austerity, faith, and devotion.

37. & 38. Then, O sinless one, contemplated at heart in constant tapas, faith and devotion and highly delighted with you, did I, the foremost dispenser of boons, reveal Myself, in this very form, to bestow on you the object of your desire. When prompted to ask for a boon, a son like me was desired by you.

10.3.38

prādurāsaṃ varada-rāḍ yuvayoḥ kāma-ditsayā /
vriyatāṃ vara ity ukte mādṛśo vāṃ vṛtaḥ sutaḥ //

Desiring to grant your wish, I, the King of boon-givers, appeared before you; / when told, “Choose a boon,” a son like Me was chosen by you both.

10.3.39

ajuṣṭa-grāmya-viṣayāv anapatyau ca dam-patī /
na vavrāthe 'pavargaṃ me mohitau deva-māyayā //

Having not enjoyed vulgar sensual pleasures, and being childless, as husband and wife / you did not ask for liberation from Me, being bewildered by divine creative power.

39. Inexperienced in the pleasure of vulgar, cammonplace objects of the world and having no issue, you, husband and wife, did not pray to Me for Moksha, as you were deluded by the Divine Maya (by My grace) which filled you with a desire to caress Me as your child.)

10.3.40

gate mayi yuvāṃ labdhvā varaṃ mat-sadṛśaṃ sutam /
grāmyān bhogān abhuñjāthāṃ yuvāṃ prāpta-manorathau //

When I departed, having obtained the boon of a son equal to Me, / you both enjoyed ordinary pleasures, your desire fulfilled.

40. When I withdrew Myself from your view you, having obtained the boon of a son like me and having thus accomplished your purpose, gave yourselves to the common pleasures.

10.3.41

adṛṣṭvānyatamaṃ loke śīlaudārya-guṇaiḥ samam /
ahaṃ suto vām abhavaṃ pṛśnigarbha iti śrutaḥ //

Seeing no other person in the world equal to Me in good conduct, magnanimity, and virtues, / I became your son, known as Pṛśnigarbha.

41. Seeing that no other in the world was like unto Me in nature, greatness and other qualities, I Myself was born your son and became known as Prisnigarbha.

10.3.42

tayor vāṃ punar evāham adityām āsa kaśyapāt /
upendra iti vikhyāto vāmanatvāc ca vāmanaḥ //

To both of you again I was born from Kaśyapa through Aditi, / renowned as Upendra, and called Vāmana because of being a dwarf.

42. And again of you both, as Aditi and Kasyapa, I was born as son, well-known as Upendra and also as Vamana by Thy dwarfish stature.

10.3.43

tṛtīye 'smin bhave 'haṃ vai tenaiva vapuṣātha vām /
jāto bhūyas tayor eva satyaṃ me vyāhṛtaṃ sati //

In this third existence, I have indeed been born to the very two of you again / in this identical form; what I have spoken, O chaste lady, is the truth.

43. Now for the third time in the same form indeed have I now appeared unto you and you are both no other than Aditi and Kasyapa: thou hast, O chaste one, spoken the truth.

10.3.44

etad vāṃ darśitaṃ rūpaṃ prāg-janma-smaraṇāya me /
nānyathā mad-bhavaṃ jñānaṃ martya-liṅgena jāyate //

This form has been shown to both of you to awaken remembrance of My previous births; / otherwise, knowledge of My divine nature would not arise through the marks of a mortal.

44. This form, to you I have revealed to remind you of My birth of you in former times: for, otherwise true recognition of Myself is not possible through the human form.

10.3.45

yuvāṃ māṃ putra-bhāvena brahma-bhāvena cāsakṛt /
cintayantau kṛta-snehau yāsyethe mad-gatiṃ parām //

Constantly thinking of Me both with parental affection as a son and with knowledge as Brahman, / and having formed loving attachment, you shall attain to My supreme abode.

45. By constantly contemplating Me as your son and also as the Perfect, Supreme Being and bearing love towards Me as such you will attain to the highest state in relation to Me.

10.3.46

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
ity uktvāsīd dharis tūṣṇīṃ bhagavān ātma-māyayā /
pitroḥ sampaśyatoḥ sadyo babhūva prākṛtaḥ śiśuḥ //

Śrī Śuka said: / Having spoken thus, Hari, the Lord, fell silent; through His own creative power, / He at once became an ordinary infant before the eyes of His parents.

46. Sri Suka said:—Having thus spoken, the glorious Hari became silent and by His own supreme power and will He was again like a common child instantly before the eyes of His parents.

10.3.46.p1

tataś ca śaurir bhagavat-pracoditaḥ $ sutaṃ samādāya sa sūtikā-gṛhāt &

Then Śauri, impelled by the Lord, / took his son from the maternity chamber;

47. Thereupon as commanded by the Lord, Vasudeva took his son from the house of delivery and when he was about to step out Maya was, though birthless, born of Nanda's wife.

10.3.47

yadā bahir gantum iyeṣa tarhy ajā % yā yogamāyājani nanda-jāyayā //

and when he desired to go outside, at that moment the unborn Yogamāyā / was born of the wife of Nanda.

10.3.48

tayā hṛta-pratyaya-sarva-vṛttiṣu dvāḥ-stheṣu paureṣv api śāyiteṣv atha /
dvāraś ca sarvāḥ pihitā duratyayā bṛhat-kapāṭāyasa-kīla-śṛṅkhalaiḥ //

When by her all the senses of the door-keepers and the townspeople were robbed of perception and they were put to sleep, / all the gates, which were impassable and bolted with massive panels, iron bolts, and chains,

48. By Her the sentinels were deprived of all sensibility and sense of perceptions and also the citizens steeped in sleep; all the gates that had been closed with impregnable and huge doors and made fast with iron bars and chains flew off, on the approach of

10.3.49

tāḥ kṛṣṇa-vāhe vasudeva āgate svayaṃ vyavaryanta yathā tamo raveḥ /
vavarṣa parjanya upāṃśu-garjitaḥ śeṣo 'nvagād vāri nivārayan phaṇaiḥ //

opened by themselves as Vasudeva carrying Kṛṣṇa approached, just as darkness vanishes before the sun; / the raincloud poured down with muted thunder, and Śeṣa followed behind, warding off the water with his hoods.

Vasudeva with Krishna in his arms like gloom at the advent of the Sun.

49. Then Parjanya (cloud) in suppressed tones of thunder, gently rained and Adisesha followed, warding off water with his hoods spread out over His head.

10.3.50

maghoni varṣaty asakṛd yamānujā gambhīra-toyaugha-javormi-phenilā /
bhayānakāvarta-śatākulā nadī mārgaṃ dadau sindhur iva śriyaḥ pateḥ //

As Indra showered rain incessantly, the younger sister of Yama, the river [Yamunā], foamy with the swift current of its deep waters / and agitated by hundreds of frightening whirlpools, gave way just like the ocean to the Lord of Śrī.

50. As Indra frequently sent down showers of rain the sister of Yama (the river Yamuna), rolling swiftly her deep flood throwing off waves and covered with foam, and marked with hundreds of fearful whirlpools, made way for Vasudeva like the sea to the Lord of Lakshmi in the past.

10.3.50.p1

nanda-vrajaṃ śaurir upetya tatra tān $ gopān prasuptān upalabhya nidrayā &

Śauri, reaching the pastoral settlement of Nanda, / found the cowherds there fast asleep;

51. Vasudeva arrived at Nanda's Vraja, found there gopas cast (by Maya) in deep sleep, placed his son on the bed of Yasoda and, taking her daughter, returned home.

10.3.51

sutaṃ yaśodā-śayane nidhāya tat- % sutām upādāya punar gṛhān agāt //

laying his son on Yaśodā's bed and taking up her daughter, / he returned once more to his home.

10.3.52

devakyāḥ śayane nyasya vasudevo 'tha dārikām /
pratimucya pador loham āste pūrvavad āvṛtaḥ //

Then, having laid the infant girl on Devakī's bed,
Vasudeva fastened the iron shackles on his feet again and remained bound as before.

52. Vasudeva arrived, placed the daughter on the bed of Devaki and, putting on the chains on his feet, remained shut up as before.

10.3.53

yaśodā nanda-patnī ca jātaṃ param abudhyata /
na tal-liṅgaṃ pariśrāntā nidrayāpagata-smṛtiḥ //

And Yaśodā, the wife of Nanda, knew only that a child was born;
exhausted, her memory lost in sleep, she did not know its gender.

53. And Yasoda, Nanda's wife, had only a vague notion of something born of her: but, with her memory suspended through sleep in her fatigued state she possessed no clear perception of its sex.