Bhagavatapurana 11.31: athaikatriṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

11.31.1

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
atha tatrāgamad brahmā bhavānyā ca samaṃ bhavaḥ /
mahendra-pramukhā devā munayaḥ sa-prajeśvarāḥ //

Śrī Śuka said:
Then Brahmā arrived there, and Bhava together with Bhavānī, / the gods headed by Mahendra, the sages with the lords of creatures,

1, 2 & 3. Sri Suka said:—Presently thither came Brahma and Siva with Uma, Mahendra and the other gods, Rishis, the great Prajapatis (progenitors) Pitris, Siddhas, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas, the great Nagas, Charanas, Yakshas, Rakshasas, Kinnaras, Apsaras women, birds of Garuda loka (and sages like Maitreya), eager to witness the Lord's glorious passage and in great enthusiasm they sang and praised the deeds and Avatara of Sri Krishna.

11.31.2

pitaraḥ siddha-gandharvā vidyādhara-mahoragāḥ /
cāraṇā yakṣa-rakṣāṃsi kinnarāpsaraso dvijāḥ //

the ancestors, Siddhas, Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, great serpents, / Cāraṇas, Yakṣas, Rakṣases, Kinnaras, Apsarases, and twice-born sages,

11.31.3

draṣṭu-kāmā bhagavato niryāṇaṃ paramotsukāḥ /
gāyantaś ca gṛṇantaś ca śaureḥ karmāṇi janma ca //

eager to behold the departure of the Lord, filled with the highest yearning, / singing and reciting the deeds and the birth of Śauri.

11.31.4

vavṛṣuḥ puṣpa-varṣāṇi vimānāvalibhir nabhaḥ /
kurvantaḥ saṅkulaṃ rājan bhaktyā paramayā yutāḥ //

Crowding the sky with rows of aerial chariots, O King, / endowed with supreme devotion, they showered rains of flowers.

4. Thronging in the sky in their ærial cars they profusely showered flowers actuated with deepest devotion.

11.31.5

bhagavān pitāmahaṃ vīkṣya vibhūtīr ātmano vibhuḥ /
saṃyojyātmani cātmānaṃ padma-netre nyamīlayat //

The all-pervading Lord, seeing the Grandfather [Brahmā] and his own divine manifestations, / fixed his self within the Self and closed his lotus eyes.

5. The glorious Lord too cast His glance at Brahma, the grand-father of the world as well as various others that are His glorious forms, and in communion with His pervading self He shut His lotus-like eyes (as if in meditation to avoid severally their request to visit their regions).

11.31.6

lokābhirāmāṃ sva-tanuṃ dhāraṇā-dhyāna-maṅgalam /
yoga-dhāraṇayāgneyyā- dagdhvā dhāmāviśat svakam //

Without burning with the fiery yogic concentration his own body, which delights the world / and is the auspicious object of meditation and concentration, he entered his own realm.

6. The Lord did not, by the fire-producing Yogic concentration, burn up His world-fascinating form and the most auspicious object for concentration and meditation, but with that very form He entered His own region (Vaikuntha); for it is His own essential form, most charming support of the world (the Lord retired into His own self).

11.31.7

divi dundubhayo neduḥ petuḥ sumanasaś ca khāt /
satyaṃ dharmo dhṛtir bhūmeḥ kīrtiḥ śrīś cānu taṃ yayuḥ //

Kettledrums sounded in the sky, and flowers fell from the heavens; / Truth, dharma, steadfastness, renown, and the earth's splendor followed after him.

7. In the heavens celestial drums were sounded; flowers fell from the skies; Truthfulness, Righteousness, Enthusiasm, Fortitude, Glory and Prosperity left the earth and followed Him.

11.31.8

devādayo brahma-mukhyā na viśantaṃ sva-dhāmani /
avijñāta-gatiṃ kṛṣṇaṃ dadṛśuś cāti-vismitāḥ //

The deities and others headed by Brahmā did not see Kṛṣṇa entering his own abode; / with his path unnoticed, they were utterly astonished.

8. Brahma, the other gods as well as others, could not directly and fully see Lord Krishna of incomprehensible ways as He entered into His region and they stood in astonishment.

11.31.9

saudāmanyā yathāklāśe yāntyā hitvābhra-maṇḍalam /
gatir na lakṣyate martyais tathā kṛṣṇasya daivataiḥ //

Just as the path of lightning darting into the sky after leaving the cloud bank / is not perceived by mortals, so was Kṛṣṇa's path [unseen] by the gods.

9. Just as the course of lightning in the sky as it passes from clouds is not perceived by mortals, so Krishna's course was not seen by the gods.

11.31.10

brahma-rudrādayas te tu dṛṣṭvā yoga-gatiṃ hareḥ /
vismitās tāṃ praśaṃsantaḥ svaṃ svaṃ lokaṃ yayus tadā //

Having witnessed that yogic departure of Hari, Brahmā, Rudra, and the others, / amazed and praising it, then went each to his own realm.

10. Those Brahma, Rudra and others, witnessing the yogic course of Hari, were cast in wonder and singing praises thereof they returned to their respective regions.

11.31.10.p1

rājan parasya tanu-bhṛj-jananāpyayehā $ māyā-viḍambanam avehi yathā naṭasya &

Know, O King, that the Supreme's activities of birth and dissolution of embodied forms / are an imitation by creative power, like an actor's performance.

11. O king, do thou understand that His appearing among, and disappearing from among, mortals (Yadavas and others) and the other activities on the part of the Lord, the cause of all, are but imitative sport through His Maya like those of an actor, and that by virtue of His own infinite powers He Himself creates and enters into this Universe and having at the end withdrawn Himself from the view of the world He remains only in His eternal blissful state.

11.31.11

sṛṣṭvātmanedam anuviśya vihṛtya cānte % saṃhṛtya cātma-mahinoparataḥ sa āste //

Having created this [universe] by himself, entered it, sported within it, and finally / withdrawn it, he abides inactive in his own majesty.

11.31.11.p2

martyena yo guru-sutaṃ yama-loka-nītaṃ $ tvāṃ cānayac charaṇa-daḥ paramāstra-dagdham &

He who brought back in his mortal body his guru's son taken to the realm of Yama, / and who, granting refuge, brought you back when burned by the supreme weapon,

12. Is that Lord unable to save Himself who brought back with the same mortal body, His preceptor's son that had been taken away to the region of Yama, who, the protector of His votaries, brought back to life Thee that wast burnt by Brahmastra, who in battle vanquished Siva, the Yama of Yama, and who sent that hunter with the mortal body to the heavenly world?

11.31.11.p3

martyena yo guru-sutaṃ yama-loka-nītaṃ $ tvāṃ cānayac charaṇa-daḥ paramāstra-dagdham &

he who brought back in his mortal body his guru's son taken to the realm of Yama, / and who, granting refuge, brought you back when burned by the supreme weapon,

11.31.12

jigye 'ntakāntakam apīśam asāv anīśaḥ % kiṃ svāvane svar anayan mṛgayuṃ sa-deham //

and who conquered even the Lord [Śiva], the conqueror of the ender [Yama]—was he powerless / to preserve himself, he who brought the hunter to heaven in his bodily form?

11.31.12.p2

tathāpy aśeṣa-sthiti-sambhavāpyayeṣv $ ananya-hetur yad aśeṣa-śakti-dhṛk &

Yet, though he is the sole cause in the maintenance, origination, and destruction of all, / bearing all powers,

13. Though omnipotent and the absolute cause of the subsistance, origin and destruction of everything, still the Lord did not like to leave behind His personality, in order to show (to others) how the mortal body is worthless and the divine state is eternal and incomparably superior).

11.31.12.p3

tathāpy aśeṣa-sthiti-sambhavāpyayeṣv $ ananya-hetur yad aśeṣa-śakti-dhṛk &

Yet, though he is the sole cause in the maintenance, origination, and destruction of all, / bearing all powers,

11.31.13

naicchat praṇetuṃ vapur atra śeṣitaṃ % martyena kiṃ sva-stha-gatiṃ pradarśayan //

did he not wish to preserve his body remaining here / in order to show to mortals the path of those established in the self?

11.31.14

ya etāṃ prātar utthāya kṛṣṇasya padavīṃ parām /
prayataḥ kīrtayed bhaktyā tām evāpnoty anuttamām //

Whoever, rising early in the morning, with self-restraint and devotion / recites this supreme path of Kṛṣṇa, attains that very peerless state.

14. He who, rising betimes, piously and devoutly sings this glorious Passage of Krishna, would attain to the same high goal.

11.31.15

dāruko dvārakām etya vasudevograsenayoḥ /
patitvā caraṇāv asrair nyaṣiñcat kṛṣṇa-vicyutaḥ //

Arriving at Dvārakā, Dāruka fell at the feet of Vasudeva and Ugrasena / and, separated from Kṛṣṇa, bathed them with his tears.

15 & 16. Daruka seaprated from Krishna returned to Dwaraka, fell on the feet of Vasudeva and Ugrasena, bathed their feet with his tears and related the whole story of Vrishnis' complete destruction, O king. Hearing that the people were filled with anxiety and overcome with grief.

11.31.16

kathayām āsa nidhanaṃ vṛṣṇīnāṃ kṛtsnaśo nṛpa /
tac chrutvodvigna-hṛdayā janāḥ śoka-virmūrcchitāḥ //

He narrated the destruction of the Vṛṣṇis completely, O King; / hearing it, the people's hearts were agitated and they fainted in grief.

11.31.17

tatra sma tvaritā jagmuḥ kṛṣṇa-viśleṣa-vihvalāḥ /
vyasavaḥ śerate yatra jñātayo ghnanta ānanam //

Distraught at separation from Kṛṣṇa, striking their faces, / they went swiftly to the place where their lifeless kinsmen lay.

17. Bewildered at the separation from Krishna and beating their faces, they hastily ran to the spot where their relations lay dead (struck with weapons).

11.31.18

devakī rohiṇī caiva vasudevas tathā sutau /
kṛṣṇa-rāmāv apaśyantaḥ śokārtā vijahuḥ smṛtim //

Devakī, Rohiṇī, and Vasudeva, / not seeing their two sons, Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, lost consciousness, stricken with grief.

18 to 22. Devaki, Rohini, Vasudeva, not seeing their sons, Krishna and Rama, afflicted with grief, lost their memory and gave up their life in their anxiety on separation from the Lord: the women embraced their husbands and ascended the pile: Rama's

11.31.19

prāṇāṃś ca vijahus tatra bhagavad-virahāturāḥ /
upaguhya patīṃs tāta citām āruruhuḥ striyaḥ //

Tormented by separation from the Lord, they gave up their life breaths there; / embracing their husbands, my dear, the women mounted the funeral pyre.

11.31.20

rāma-patnyaś ca tad-deham upaguhyāgnim āviśan /
vasudeva-patnyas tad-gātraṃ pradyumnādīn hareḥ snuṣāḥ /
kṛṣṇa-patnyo 'viśann agniṃ rukmiṇy-ādyās tad-ātmikāḥ //

Rāma's wives embraced his body and entered the fire; / Vasudeva's wives [embraced] his body; the daughters-in-law of Hari [embraced] Pradyumna and the rest; / and the wives of Kṛṣṇa, headed by Rukmiṇī, whose minds were absorbed in him, entered the fire.

consorts also embraced that body and entered into fire: Vasudeva’s wives also embraced his body and Krishna’s daughters-in-law embraced Pradyumna and others; Krishna’s wives Rukmani and others also with their hearts given to Him entered fire: Arjuna grieved at the separation from His most beloved friend Krishna comforted himself with the wise sayings of Krishna Himself: for the relations that had their races cut off, Arjuna caused the rites to be duly performed.

11.31.21

arjunaḥ preyasaḥ sakhyuḥ kṛṣṇasya virahāturaḥ /
ātmānaṃ sāntvayām āsa kṛṣṇa-gītaiḥ sad-uktibhiḥ //

Arjuna, stricken with grief at separation from his beloved friend Kṛṣṇa, / consoled himself with the virtuous words sung by Kṛṣṇa.

11.31.22

bandhūnāṃ naṣṭa-gotrāṇām arjunaḥ sāmparāyikam /
hatānāṃ kārayām āsa yathā-vad anupūrvaśaḥ //

Arjuna had the funeral rites performed properly and in order / for his slain relatives whose lineages were wiped out.

11.31.23

dvārakāṃ hariṇā tyaktāṃ samudro 'plāvayat kṣaṇāt /
varjayitvā mahā-rāja śrīmad-bhagavad-ālayam //

Once Dvārakā was abandoned by Hari, the ocean instantly flooded it, / sparing only, O great king, the glorious abode of the Lord.

23. The sea instantly flooded Dwaraka left by Hari, O great king, except the Lord’s mansion.

11.31.24

nityaṃ sannihitas tatra bhagavān madhusūdanaḥ /
smṛtyāśeṣāśubha-haraṃ sarva-maṅgala-maṅgalam //

The Lord Madhusūdana is eternally present there, / the most auspicious of all that is auspicious, destroying all misfortune through remembrance.

24. The glorious Lord Madhusudana is always present there with His form, the most auspicious of all the auspicious things, which, being remembered, drives away all evil besetting men.

11.31.25

strī-bāla-vṛddhān ādāya hata-śeṣān dhanañjayaḥ /
indraprasthaṃ samāveśya vajraṃ tatrābhyaṣecayat //

Taking the women, children, and elders who were the survivors of the slaughter, / Dhanañjaya settled them in Indraprastha and consecrated Vajra there.

25. Taking the women, children and old men that survived, Arjuna went to Indraprastha and there crowned Vajra as king.

11.31.26

śrutvā suhṛd-vadhaṃ rājann arjunāt te pitāmahāḥ /
tvāṃ tu vaṃśa-dharaṃ kṛtvā jagmuḥ sarve mahā-patham //

Hearing from Arjuna of the slaughter of their friends, O King, your grandfathers, / having established you as the bearer of the lineage, all set out on the great journey.

26. On hearing of their friends’ destruction told by Arjuna, thy grandfathers made thee the thread of their line and all betook themselves to the Great Path.

11.31.27

ya etad deva-devasya viṣṇoḥ karmāṇi janma ca /
kīrtayec chraddhayā martyaḥ sarva-pāpaiḥ pramucyate //

Whatever mortal recites with faith these deeds and birth of Viṣṇu, the God of gods, / is completely freed from all sins.

27. The mortal man who sings and celebrates with faith the Avatara and exploits of Vishnu, the Lord of all the gods, is released from all sin.

11.31.27.p1

itthaṃ harer bhagavato rucirāvatāra- $ vīryāṇi bāla-caritāni ca śantamāni &

In this way, chanting the heroic deeds and most auspicious childhood pastimes / of Lord Hari's delightful incarnations,

28. The man who sings these and similar glorious acts of the Almighty Lord Hari in His illustrious Avataras, His most happy behaviour and conduct in infancy and boyhood, those that are told here and elsewhere, would gain intense devotion to the Goal and Protector of Paramahamsas, i. e., the glorious Hari.

11.31.28

anyatra ceha ca śrutāni gṛṇan manuṣyo % bhaktiṃ parāṃ paramahaṃsa-gatau labheta //

heard both here and elsewhere, a person may attain supreme devotion / to the refuge of the supreme ascetics.