Bhagavatapurana 11.19: athaikonaviṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

11.19.1

/0 śrī-bhagavān uvāca
yo vidyā-śruta-sampannaḥ ātmavān nānumānikaḥ /
mayā-mātram idaṃ jñātvā jñānaṃ ca mayi sannyaset //

The Lord said:
One who is accomplished in learning and sacred tradition, possessed of self-realization and not mere inference,
knowing this [universe] to be sheer illusion, should surrender even that knowledge unto Me.

1. The Lord said:—He who is possessed of perfect learning and conviction and true insight into Atman, without depending on dry logic, should know this world of differences to be the result of mere Maya and finally resign to Me that knowledge also.

11.19.2

jñāninas tv aham eveṣṭaḥ svārtho hetuś ca sammataḥ /
svargaś caivāpavargaś ca nānyo 'rtho mad-ṛte priyaḥ //

For the possessor of knowledge, I alone am the beloved, the goal, and the recognized means;
heaven and even liberation are I alone; no other aim apart from Me is dear [to him].

2. And to a man of wisdom I am alone beloved: I am alone admitted as his purpose and the means thereto, I am his Swarga as well as Moksha: therefore no purpose other than Myself is dear to him.

11.19.3

jñāna-vijñāna-saṃsiddhāḥ padaṃ śreṣṭhaṃ vidur mama /
jñānī priyatamo 'to me jñānenāsau bibharti mām //

Those perfected in knowledge and direct realization know My supreme state;
therefore, the possessor of knowledge is dearest to Me, for by knowledge he upholds Me.

3. Those that have completely gained jnana and vijnana know My feet to be the highest goal; so the wise man is most beloved of Me: for he holds Me up with his knowledge.

11.19.4

tapas tīrthaṃ japo dānaṃ pavitrāṇītarāṇi ca /
nālaṃ kurvanti tāṃ siddhiṃ yā jñāna-kalayā kṛtā //

Austerity, sacred pilgrimage, recitation, charity, and other purifying acts
do not bring about that perfection which is effected by even a fraction of knowledge.

4. Tapas, holy places and holy waters, repetition of mantras, charitable gifts, many other purifying acts and circumstances do add no grace to that attainment which is wrought by a ray of wisdom.

11.19.5

tasmāj jñānena sahitaṃ jñātvā svātmānam uddhava /
jñāna-vijñāna-sampanno bhaja māṃ bhakti-bhāvataḥ //

Therefore, knowing your own self through knowledge, O Uddhava,
endowed with knowledge and direct realization, worship Me with the feeling of devotion.

5. Therefore, O Uddhava, know thyself so as to have realisation and, possessed of jnana and vijnana, worship Me with a devout heart.

11.19.6

jñāna-vijñāna-yajñena mām iṣṭvātmānam ātmani /
sarva-yajña-patiṃ māṃ vai saṃsiddhiṃ munayo 'gaman //

Having worshipped Me, the Self within the self, through the sacrifice of knowledge and direct realization,
the sages indeed attained supreme perfection in Me, the Lord of all sacrifices.

6. By means of jnana and vijnana sacrifices, sages have worshipped Me, Atman and the Lord of all sacrifices, in their own self (heart) and have attained perfect wisdom.

11.19.6.p1

tvayy uddhavāśrayati yas tri-vidho vikāro $ māyāntarāpatati nādy-apavargayor yat &

The threefold modification that appears in you, Uddhava, falls within creative power, not in the beginning or the end;

7. O Uddhava, the three-fold modification that appears to be in thee is merely Maya, for it occurs in the middle: but it does not exist in the beginning or at the end: when birth and other states

11.19.7

janmādayo 'sya yad amī tava tasya kiṃ syur % ādy-antayor yad asato 'sti tad eva madhye //

how could these [states] such as birth belong to you, [the self]? For whatever is unreal at the beginning and the end is indeed unreal in the middle as well.

affect this modification (universe of body and the like), what could affect thee that art only the ground (for the mistake)? In the case of an illusory object, what really exists in the beginning and at the end is what exists in the middle also (unaffected by the changes).

11.19.8

/0 śrī-uddhava uvāca
jñānaṃ viśuddhaṃ vipulaṃ yathaitad vairāgya-vijñāna-yutaṃ purāṇam /
ākhyāhi viśveśvara viśva-mūrte tvad-bhakti-yogaṃ ca mahad-vimṛgyam //

Śrī Uddhava said:
Declare to me, O Lord of the universe, O You whose form is the cosmos, that pure, vast, and ancient knowledge accompanied by dispassion and direct realization, / and also the yoga of devotion to You, sought by exalted devotees.

8. Uddhava said:—O Lord of the Universe, O Lord who art in the form of the Universe, may Thou be pleased to explain to me how the ancient, (traditional) pure and conclusive knowledge, together with renunciation and vijnana, may be fully had, as well as the method of devotion to Thee, which is (secret and) sought after by the great (Brahma and others)!

11.19.9

tāpa-trayeṇābhihatasya ghore santapyamānasya bhavādhvanīśa /
paśyāmi nānyac charaṇaṃ tavāṅghri- dvandvātapatrād amṛtābhivarṣāt //

Afflicted by the threefold misery, burning on the terrible path of worldly existence, O Lord,
I see no other shelter than the umbrella of Your two feet, which showers nectar.

9. In the fearful path of Samsara, O Lord, to me harassed by the three-fold afflictions and subjected to severe trial, O Lord, I do not see any shelter other than the umbrella of Thy feet that shower nectar (viz.,) the blissful Moksha. V.

11.19.10

daṣṭaṃ janaṃ sampatitaṃ bile 'smin kālāhinā kṣudra-sukhoru-tarṣam /
samuddharainaṃ kṛpayāpavargyair vacobhir āsiñca mahānubhāva //

Lift up this person fallen into this dark pit, bitten by the serpent of time, thirsting for trivial pleasures;
out of compassion sprinkle him, O exalted Lord, with words that lead to liberation.

10. O most glorious Lord, lift me up thirsting after trifling pleasures and fallen into this abyss, bitten by the serpent of time and graciously sprinkle me with Thy soothing words of salvation.

11.19.11

/0 śrī-bhagavān uvāca
ittham etat purā rājā bhīṣmaṃ dharma-bhṛtāṃ varam /
ajāta-śatruḥ papraccha sarveṣāṃ no 'nuśṛṇvatām //

The Lord said:
Formerly, King Ajātaśatru asked this very thing of Bhīṣma,
the best of the upholders of dharma, while all of us listened.

11. The Lord said:—Formerly on this point king Yudhishitira, Ajatasatru, asked Bhishma, the foremost one of those versed in the lore of dharmas, when we were all listening to it.

11.19.12

nivṛtte bhārate yuddhe suhṛn-nidhana-vihvalaḥ /
śrutvā dharmān bahūn paścān mokṣa-dharmān apṛcchata //

When the Bhārata war had ended, grief-stricken at the death of his friends,
after hearing many dharmas, he subsequently asked about the dharmas of liberation.

12. When the war described in the Bharata was over, Yudhishtira, confused on account of the death of friends and relations, heard the exposition of various points of dharma and lastly he enquired of Bhishma about the courses of dharma leading to Moksha.

11.19.13

tān ahaṃ te 'bhidhāsyāmi deva-vrata-makhāc chrutān /
jñāna-vairāgya-vijñāna- śraddhā-bhakty-upabṛṃhitān //

Those I shall declare to you as heard from the mouth of Devavrata,
enriched with knowledge, dispassion, direct realization, faith, and devotion.

13. I shall tell you of these which I heard from the lips of Bhishma and which are pregnant with high precepts on renunciation, *vijnana*, faith, sincerity and devotion.

11.19.14

navaikādaśa pañca trīn bhāvān bhūteṣu yena vai /
īkṣetāthāikam apy eṣu taj jñānaṃ mama niścitam //

That by which one perceives the nine, eleven, five, and three principles in living beings,
and then perceives the one [reality] within these, that is knowledge in My definitive judgment.

14. That is true vijnana, I conclude, by which one could see

in all beings the nine, eleven, five and three principles and also the one Paramatman in them all.

11.19.15

etad eva hi vijñānaṃ na tathaikena yena yat /
sthity-utpatty-apyayān paśyed bhāvānāṃ tri-guṇātmanām //

And direct realization is precisely this: when one does not see [the manifold] in that way,
but sees by that One the sustenance, origin, and dissolution of all things composed of the three qualities.

15. Now vijnana is only this — that he does not now see the many principles (the plurality of principles) to be real as he did in the preceding stage, or how the many is pervaded by the One, (that is, he should remain conscious of the One Supreme Cause, Brahman, and of nothing else). He should realise that the states of origin, subsistence and destruction relate only to the things that are constituted of the three gunas.

11.19.16

ādāv ante ca madhye ca sṛjyāt sṛjyaṃ yad anviyāt /
punas tat-pratisaṅkrāme yac chiṣyeta tad eva sat //

That which persists from one created thing to another in the beginning, the middle, and the end,
and which remains when their dissolution occurs once again—that alone is the Real.

16. What is connected with (enters into) every created thing as it is evolved from another, in the beginning, at the end as well as in the middle, and again what in the process of involution remains unabsorbed is the only one real Existence or Being.

11.19.17

śrutiḥ pratyakṣam aitihyam anumānaṃ catuṣṭayam /
pramāṇeṣv anavasthānād vikalpāt sa virajyate //

Revelation, direct perception, tradition, and inference—from this fourfold means of knowledge,
because of the instability and diversity of worldly constructs, one becomes detached.

17. The Veda, the senses, the tradition and inference, are the four instruments of knowledge; in the light of these four authorities

11.19.18

karmaṇāṃ pariṇāmitvād ā-viriñcyād amaṅgalam /
vipaścin naśvaraṃ paśyed adṛṣṭam api dṛṣṭa-vat //

Because of the mutability of karmic actions up to the realm of Viriñca, a wise man sees
that even the unseen [fruits of action] are inauspicious and transient, just like the seen.

18. Since the sacrificial acts are also subject to change, as being an effect and all places including that of the four-faced Brahma are worthless, the wise man must see that the invisible world i. e., swarga transient like the visible.

11.19.19

bhakti-yogaḥ puraivoktaḥ prīyamāṇāya te 'nagha /
punaś ca kathayiṣyāmi mad-bhakteḥ kāraṇaṃ paraṃ //

The yoga of devotion has already been spoken to you who are dear to Me, O sinless one;
yet I shall speak again of the supreme means to cultivate devotion to Me.

19. O sinless one, the course of devotion has been already described to thee that art delighted with it: I shall again (now) tell thee of the most efficacious way to it.

11.19.20

śraddhāmṛta-kathāyāṃ me śaśvan mad-anukīrtanam /
pariniṣṭhā ca pūjāyāṃ stutibhiḥ stavanaṃ mama //

Faith in the nectar-like narratives of Me, constant glorification of Me,
steadfastness in My worship, and praising Me with hymns of praise;

20. Sincere solicitude to listen to My nectar-like stories, the constant singing of Me, a steady application to My worship, to sing hymns in praise of Me;

11.19.21

ādaraḥ paricaryāyāṃ sarvāṅgair abhivandanam /
mad-bhakta-pūjābhyadhikā sarva-bhūteṣu man-matiḥ //

reverence in serving Me, prostration with all one's limbs,
greater worship toward My devotees, and the perception of Me in all beings;

21 to 23. Enthusiasm in doing service to Me and bowing to Me with all the eight parts of the body, great attention to worshipping My devotee, to think that I am present in all beings, every movement of every limb taking place only in doing acts dedicated to Me: to sing only My qualities, to resign the mind to Me, to shun all desires, and for My sake to eschew money that does not point to My devotion, to aband on enjoyments and comforts and to perform sacrificial acts, gifts, oblations, repetition of mantras and the vow and tapas dedicated to Me.

11.19.22

mad-artheṣv aṅga-ceṣṭā ca vacasā mad-guṇeraṇam /
mayy arpaṇaṃ ca manasaḥ sarva-kāma-vivarjanam //

bodily action performed for My sake, speaking of My virtues with one's voice,
surrender of the mind to Me, and renunciation of all desires;

11.19.23

mad-arthe 'rtha-parityāgo bhogasya ca sukhasya ca /
iṣṭaṃ dattaṃ hutaṃ japtaṃ mad-arthaṃ yad vrataṃ tapaḥ //

renunciation of wealth, enjoyment, and comfort for My sake;
whatever sacrifice is made, gift given, oblation poured, recitation performed, vow kept, or austerity practiced—all for My sake:

11.19.24

evaṃ dharmair manuṣyāṇām uddhavātma-nivedinām /
mayi sañjāyate bhaktiḥ ko 'nyo 'rtho 'syāvaśiṣyate //

by such dharmas of human beings who surrender themselves to Me, O Uddhava,
devotion to Me arises; what other goal remains for them?

24. Those men, O Uddhava, who possess the aforesaid virtues and resign their self unto Me, develop devotion towards Me. What other purpose yet remains for them to secure?

11.19.25

yadātmany arpitaṃ cittaṃ śāntaṃ sattvopabṛṃhitam /
dharmaṃ jñānaṃ sa vairāgyam aiśvaryaṃ cābhipadyate //

When the tranquil mind, fortified by purity, is surrendered to the Self,
it attains dharma, knowledge, dispassion, and mystic power.

25. When the mind full of Satva and thoroughly serene is resigned unto Me, the man naturally gains merit of righteousness, wisdom and renunciation and attains to the state of Iswara.

11.19.26

yad arpitaṃ tad vikalpe indriyaiḥ paridhāvati /
rajas-valaṃ cāsan-niṣṭhaṃ cittaṃ viddhi viparyayam //

When it is fixed on mental constructs, it runs about through the senses,
tainted by passion and attached to the unreal—know such a mind to be the reverse.

26. The mind that is set on anything different from Myself (on phenomenal objects) runs astray with the senses; then it becomes very impure with Rajas attached to bad things (Tamasa) and thus it becomes perverse (unrighteous, vicious etc.)

11.19.27

dharmo mad-bhakti-kṛt prokto jñānaṃ caikātmya-darśanam /
guṇesv asaṅgo vairāgyam aiśvaryaṃ cāṇimādayaḥ //

Dharma is declared to be that which generates devotion to Me, knowledge is the perception of the oneness of the Self,
dispassion is detachment from the qualities, and mystic power consists of the atom-like powers and the rest.

27. Whatever promotes devotion to Me is *dharma*; and to realise the oneness of Atman is gnana or wisdom; to be without attachment to the three gunas and their products is renunciation and the state of Iswara is to possess Anima and other powers.

11.19.28

śrī-uddhava uvāca yamaḥ kati-vidhaḥ prokto /
niyamo vāri-karṣaṇa kaḥ śamaḥ ko damaḥ kṛṣṇa //

Śrī Uddhava said:
How many kinds of restraints are taught, / or observances, O Subduer of foes? What is tranquility, and what is self-control, O Kṛṣṇa?

28. Uddhava said:—"O slayer of enemies, how many are the Yamas laid down as such? Niyamas, how many? What is Sama? What is Dama, O Krishna, what is forbearance, or fortitude, O Lord"?

11.19.29

kā titikṣā dhṛtiḥ prabho kiṃ dānaṃ kiṃ tapaḥ śauryaṃ /
kim satyam ṛtam ucyate kas tyāgaḥ kiṃ dhanaṃ ceṣṭaṃ //

What is forbearance, what is fortitude, O Lord? What is charity? What is austerity, what is heroism, / what is truth called, and what is righteousness? What is renunciation, what is wealth, and what is sacrifice?

29. What is gift? what is tapas? what is heroism, truthfulness, correct understanding? What is liberality? What is [what is food that gives satisfaction, what is cleanliness, O Janardana] wealth or sacrificial act? what is *yagna* and what is *dakshina*?

11.19.30

ko yajñaḥ kā ca dakṣiṇā puṃsaḥ kiṃ svid balaṃ śrīman /
bhago lābhaś ca keśava kā vidyā hrīḥ parā kā śrīḥ //

What is the sacrificial gift, and what is the strength of a man, O Glorious One? / What are good fortune and gain, O Keśava? What is learning, what is supreme modesty, and what is true splendor?

30. What is the good strength of man, O glorious One, what is fortune or gain, O Kesava? What is the highest form of modesty, what Sri, what happiness and what misery?

11.19.31

kiṃ sukhaṃ duḥkham eva ca kaḥ paṇḍitaḥ kaś ca mūrkhaḥ /
kaḥ panthā utpathaś ca kaḥ kaḥ svargo narakaḥ kaḥ svit //

What is happiness and what is sorrow? Who is wise and who is a fool? / What is the true path and what is the wrong path? What is heaven and what is hell?

31. Who is a scholar (Pandita); who is a fool, what is the way and 'what is the wrong way', 'what is swarga', 'what is Naraka,' who is a relation and what is a house?

11.19.32

ko bandhur uta kiṃ gṛham ka āḍhyaḥ ko daridro vā /
kṛpaṇaḥ kaḥ ka īśvaraḥ etān praśnān mama brūhi /
viparītāṃś ca sat-pate śrī-bhagavān uvāca //

Who is a kinsman, and what is home? Who is rich, and who is poor? / Who is wretched, and who is a master? Explain these questions to me, / and their opposites, O Lord of the virtuous.
The Lord said:

32. Who is rich and who poor, who is helpless? And who is Iswara, O Lord of the righteous? May Thou be pleased to explain to me these points of enquiry as well as the contrary ideas.

11.19.33

ahiṃsā satyam asteyam asaṅgo hrīr asañcayaḥ /
āstikyaṃ brahmacaryaṃ ca maunaṃ sthairyaṃ kṣamābhayam //

Non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, non-attachment, modesty, non-accumulation,
faith in the sacred, celibacy, silence, steadiness, forgiveness, and fearlessness;

33. to 35. The Lord said:—To refrain from harming others, to be truthful, not to appropriate others' wealth even in thought, to be free from attachments, to avoid company, to shrink from evil courses, not to be storing or collecting wealth, belief in Dharma, celibacy, silence, firmness, forbearance (patience), fear (of god) cleanliness of body and purity of heart, to repeat the mantras, tapas, to pour oblations into the sacred fire, enthusiasm in being righteous, hospitality, worshipping Me, pilgrimages to holy places and waters, working for the benefit of others, contentment, service

11.19.34

śaucaṃ japas tapo homaḥ śraddhātithyaṃ mad-arcanam /
tīrthāṭanaṃ parārthehā tuṣṭir ācārya-sevanam //

cleanliness, recitation, austerity, fire-offering, faith, hospitality, My worship,
pilgrimage, striving for the welfare of others, contentment, and service to the spiritual teacher:

11.19.35

ete yamāḥ sa-niyamā ubhayor dvādaśa smṛtāḥ /
puṃsām upāsitās tāta yathā-kāmaṃ duhanti hi //

these are the restraints accompanied by observances, twelve of each remembered;
when practiced by people, dear friend, they yield whatever is desired.

to the Acharya or preceptor—these are Yamas and Niyamas, respectively twelve in number, useful to both the Nivritta and Pravritta courses of men; when practised, these virtues yield all that they desire.

11.19.36

śamo man-niṣṭhatā buddher dama indriya-saṃyamaḥ /
titikṣā duḥkha-sammarṣo jihvopastha-jayo dhṛtiḥ //

Equanimity is the intellect's fixing upon Me; restraint of the senses is self-control; / forbearance is the patient endurance of sorrow; and perseverance is victory over tongue and genitals.

36. *Sama* is to devoutly settle the mind on Me, *dama* is the control of the senses, *forbearance* is to put up quietly with afflictions, *fortitude* is complete control of the senses of taste and touch (sexual passion).

11.19.37

daṇḍa-nyāsaḥ paraṃ dānaṃ kāma-tyāgas tapaḥ smṛtam /
svabhāva-vijayaḥ śauryaṃ satyaṃ ca sama-darśanam //

Laying down the rod [of violence] is the highest charity; the renunciation of desire is celebrated as austerity; / victory over one's own conditioning is heroism; and seeing all equally is truth.

37. To refrain from harming other creatures is the highest gift (*charity*); to abandon desires is admitted to be *Tapas*; control over natural tendencies is *heroism* and *truthfulness* is to think of Brahman.

11.19.38

anyac ca sunṛtā vāṇī kavibhiḥ parikīrtitā /
karmasv asaṅgamaḥ śaucaṃ tyāgaḥ sannyāsa ucyate //

Moreover, pleasing and truthful speech is proclaimed [as truth] by the wise; / detachment in actions is purity; and renunciation is called sannyāsa.

38. *Rita* is, the wise say, speech, both sweet and truthful; absence of attachment to the course of karma is *cleanliness* and to be rid of the notions of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ is *tyaga* (liberality).

11.19.39

dharma iṣṭaṃ dhanaṃ nṝṇāṃ yajño 'haṃ bhagavattamaḥ /
dakṣiṇā jñāna-sandeśaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ paraṃ balam //

Dharma is the desirable wealth of men; I, the supreme Lord, am the sacrifice; / the instruction of knowledge is the priestly fee; and the restraint of breath is the supreme strength.

39. The desired wealth of men is *righteousness*; *yagna* is Myself, the most glorious One; *dakshina* is precept leading to wisdom, *Pranayama* or control of breath is the greatest strength.

11.19.40

bhago ma aiśvaro bhāvo lābho mad-bhaktir uttamaḥ /
vidyātmani bhidā-bādho jugupsā hrīr akarmasu //

Divine majesty is My sovereign nature; devotion to Me is the supreme gain; / knowledge is the sublation of difference in the self; and modesty is disgust with sinful acts.

40. Fortune is the state of Iswara having the six attributes; the highest gain or profit is devotion to Me: learning is erasure of difference in Me; *Hree* is shrinking from prohibited action.

11.19.41

śrīr guṇā nairapekṣyādyāḥ sukhaṃ duḥkha-sukhātyayaḥ /
duḥkhaṃ kāma-sukhāpekṣā paṇḍito bandha-mokṣa-vit //

True splendor consists of virtues such as detachment; happiness is going beyond pleasure and pain; / misery is longing for sensual pleasures; and a wise man is one who understands bondage and liberation.

41. Absence of desire and other good qualities are the ornament, happiness is to be insensible to pain and pleasure: Misery is the craving for the pleasure to be derived from the fulfilment of desires. He is Pandita who has a true knowledge of bondage and Moksha (release).

11.19.42

mūrkho dehādy-ahaṃ-buddhiḥ panthā man-nigamaḥ smṛtaḥ /
utpathaś citta-vikṣepaḥ svargaḥ sattva-guṇodayaḥ //

A fool is one who identifies with the body and other [non-self objects]; the right path is recorded as My scriptural injunction; / the wrong path is distraction of the mind; and heaven is the arising of the quality of purity.

42. The fool is he who thinks that the body and its belongings are Atman. The way is, it is said, that which directs one towards Me. The wrong way is distraction of the mind; _swarga_ is the predominance of Satva.

11.19.43

narakas tama-unnāho bandhur gurur ahaṃ sakhe /
gṛhaṃ śarīraṃ mānuṣyaṃ guṇāḍhyo hy āḍhya ucyate //

Hell is the swelling of the quality of darkness; the true kinsman is the guru, and I am that guru, O friend; / the house is the human body; and indeed he who is rich in virtues is called wealthy.

43. Hell is the predominance of Tamas: the relation is the preceptor, i. e., Myself, O friend. The house is the human body; the rich man is he who is full of excellent qualities (virtue).

11.19.44

daridro yas tv asantuṣṭaḥ kṛpaṇo yo 'jitendriyaḥ /
guṇeṣv asakta-dhīr īśo guṇa-saṅgo viparyayaḥ //

He who is discontented is poor; he whose senses are unsubdued is wretched; / a master is one whose mind is unattached to the qualities of nature; and attachment to them is the reverse.

44. He is poor who is discontented: he is helpless who has not controlled his senses: he is Iswara who is not attached to the gunas: and one attached to the gunas is the slave.

11.19.45

eta uddhava te praśnāḥ sarve sādhu nirūpitāḥ /
kiṃ varṇitena bahunā lakṣaṇaṃ guṇa-doṣayoḥ /
guṇa-doṣa-dṛśir doṣo guṇas tūbhaya-varjitaḥ //

These questions of yours, O Uddhava, have all been properly explained. / What is the use of elaborate description regarding the characteristics of virtue and defect? / Seeing virtue and defect is itself a defect; whereas virtue consists in being free from both.

45. O Uddhava, these questions of thine are all clearly explained. What need is there for any more lengthy description? Here is the one standard of judging what is good or bad, to wit, to think of the excellent points and of defects is bad, whereas not to think of them both is good.