Bhagavatapurana 11.7: atha saptamo'dhyāyaḥ

11.7.1

/0 śrī-bhagavān uvāca
yad āttha māṃ mahā-bhāga tac-cikīrṣitam eva me /
brahmā bhavo loka-pālāḥ svar-vāsaṃ me 'bhikāṅkṣiṇaḥ //

The Lord said: / What you have said to me, O fortunate one, is indeed what I intend to do; / Brahmā, Śiva, and the guardians of the world long for my residence in heaven.

1. The Lord said:— O blessed one, what thou sayest is exactly what I like to do: still Brahma, Siva and the protectors of of the world pray for My presence in the celestial region.

11.7.2

mayā niṣpāditaṃ hy atra deva-kāryam aśeṣataḥ /
yad-artham avatīrṇo 'ham aṃśena brahmaṇārthitaḥ //

The work of the gods, for which I descended with a portion / at the request of Brahmā, has indeed been entirely accomplished by me here.

2. I have indeed accomplished here wholly the purpose of the gods, for which as prayed for by Brahma I appeared (here) by an amsa.

11.7.3

kulaṃ vai śāpa-nirdagdhaṃ naṅkṣyaty anyonya-vigrahāt /
samudraḥ saptame hy enāṃ purīṃ ca plāvayiṣyati //

Consumed by the curse, this family will perish from mutual conflict, / and on the seventh day the ocean will submerge this city.

3. This race burnt by the curse will surely perish soon by internal discord; on the seventh day (after my ascension) the sea will overflow and submerge this city.

11.7.4

yarhy evāyaṃ mayā tyakto loko 'yaṃ naṣṭa-maṅgalaḥ /
bhaviṣyaty acirāt sādho kalināpi nirākṛtaḥ //

The very moment this world is abandoned by me, its auspiciousness lost, / it will soon be overcome by the Kali age, O virtuous one.

4. The moment I leave it, this world will lose all its auspiciousness and further, O good one, it will before long be thrown into disorder by Kali.

11.7.5

na vastavyaṃ tvayaiveha mayā tyakte mahī-tale /
jano 'bhadra-rucir bhadra bhaviṣyati kalau yuge //

You must not remain here on this earth when it is abandoned by me; / in the Kali age, O gentle one, humanity will delight in the inauspicious.

5. And thou, too, shouldst not remain here alone when I have left the earth: for, O good one, in the age of Kali people will have taste (attraction) only for unrighteous ways.

11.7.6

tvaṃ tu sarvaṃ parityajya snehaṃ sva-jana-bandhuṣu /
mayy āveśya manaḥ saṃyak sama-dṛg vicarasva gām //

Renouncing all affection for your own kinsmen and relatives, / fix your mind fully on me, and wander the earth with an equal eye.

6. And thou shouldst shake off all attachment to thy people and relations and having firmly settled thy mind on Me, go about the earth regarding everything as equal.

11.7.7

yad idaṃ manasā vācā cakṣurbhyāṃ śravaṇādibhiḥ /
naśvaraṃ gṛhyamāṇaṃ ca viddhi māyā-mano-mayam //

Whatever perishable thing is perceived by the mind, speech, / eyes, hearing, and the rest, know it to be a product of the creative power and the mind.

7. All this which is being perceived by the mind, by speech, by the eye, the ear and other organs—know all this to be transient and a product of Maya and the mind (of My will and Prakriti under its control).

11.7.8

puṃso 'yuktasya nānārtho bhramaḥ sa guṇa-doṣa-bhāk /
karmākarma-vikarmeti guṇa-doṣa-dhiyo bhidā //

For an uncollected person, the multiplicity of objects is an illusion participating in good and bad; / the distinctions of action, inaction, and forbidden action arise from this notion of good and bad.

8. Of a man who has not had proper training of the mind the apprehension of difference between things is misapprehension: and this leads to good and bad consequences; and to the individual who thinks of good and bad, there exists the distinction of action as Karma and Akarma.

11.7.9

tasmād yuktendriya-grāmo yukta-citta idam jagat /
ātmanīkṣasva vitatam ātmānaṃ mayy adhīśvare //

Therefore, with your senses restrained and your mind focused, behold this entire world / extended within the self, and behold the self within me, the supreme Lord.

9. Therefore do thou properly train thy mind and senses and see this Universe in Atman and find the pervading Atman in My-

self, the Supreme Lord.

11.7.10

jñāna-vijñāna-saṃyukta ātma-bhūtaḥ śarīriṇām /
atmānubhava-tuṣṭātmā nāntarāyair vihanyase //

Endowed with knowledge and realized wisdom, being the self of embodied beings, / satisfied in yourself through the direct experience of the self, you will not be thwarted by obstacles.

10. Possessed of Gnana and Vignana (the conclusions of the Vedas and their realisation) and immersed in the delight of self-realisation and finding thyself to be the self of all embodied creatures, thou wilt not experience obstructions.

11.7.11

doṣa-buddhyobhayātīto niṣedhān na nivartate /
guṇa-buddhyā ca vihitaṃ na karoti yathārbhakaḥ //

Transcendental to both, one does not refrain from what is forbidden through a notion of fault, / nor perform what is prescribed through a notion of virtue, just like a child.

11. He who has risen above the sphere of both (good and bad) does not refrain from what is prohibited from a sense (fear) of bad consequences: nor does he do the prescribed duty under a sense (in the hope) of the resultant good, but he acts only like a child.

11.7.12

sarva-bhūta-suhṛc chānto jñāna-vijñāna-niścayaḥ /
paśyan mad-ātmakaṃ viśvaṃ na vipadyeta vai punaḥ //

The friend of all beings, peaceful, firm in knowledge and realized wisdom, / seeing the universe as comprised of me, will certainly never fall into misfortune again.

12. Being a friend to all beings, having a serene mind and possessed of firm conviction through Gnana and Vignana that the Universe is Myself, he does not indeed again get into the path of Samsara.

11.7.13

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
ity ādiṣṭo bhagavatā mahā-bhāgavato nṛpa /
uddhavaḥ praṇipatyāha tattvaṃ jijñāsur acyutam //

Śrī Śuka said: / Having been thus instructed by the Lord, O king, the great devotee of the Lord, / Uddhava, bowed down and spoke to Acyuta, desiring to know the truth.

13. Sri Suka said:— Thus precepted by the Lord, the great devotee Uddhava, eager to know the truth, bowed to Achyuta and said.

11.7.14

/0 śrī-uddhava uvāca
yogeśa yoga-vinyāsa yogātman yoga-sambhava /
niḥśreyasāya me proktas tyāgaḥ sannyāsa-lakṣaṇaḥ //

Śrī Uddhava said: / O Lord of yoga, O designer of yoga, O self of yoga, O source of yoga, / for my highest good, renunciation characterized by total abandonment has been taught by You.

14. & 15. Uddhava said:— O Lord of Yoga, O the abode of those that know Yoga, O one that art revealed by Yoga, O source of Yoga, for my final beatitude, the giving up of everything by way of renunciation has been taught: this giving up of desires is impossible, O Perfect One, for those who are addicted to sense objects, especially, I think, for those who are not devoted to Thee, O Antaryamin of all.

11.7.15

tyāgo 'yaṃ duṣkaro bhūman kāmānāṃ viṣayātmabhiḥ /
sutarāṃ tvayi sarvātmann abhaktair iti me matiḥ //

This abandonment of desires, O Infinite One, is difficult to accomplish for those attached to sense objects, / and far more so for those not devoted to You, the Self of all; this is my conviction.

11.7.15.p1

so 'haṃ mamāham iti mūḍha-matir vigāḍhas $ tvan-māyayā viracitātmani sānubandhe &

Such as I am, foolish in mind, plunged in the notions of 'I' and 'mine' / regarding this body and its relations fashioned by Your creative power,

16. Therefore, O Lord, thoroughly instruct me, Thy servant, in such a way as I may successfully practise what Thou hast taught: I am a poor creature of clouded understanding, immersed in the notion of ‘Mine’ and ‘I’ with reference to the body and its belongings instituted by Thy Maya.

11.7.16

tat tv añjasā nigaditaṃ bhavatā yathāhaṃ % saṃsādhayāmi bhagavann anuśādhi bhṛtyam //

instruct Your servant, O Lord, how I may easily / accomplish that which has been stated by You.

11.7.16.p2

satyasya te sva-dṛśa ātmana ātmano 'nyaṃ $ vaktāram īśa vibudheṣv api nānucakṣe &

Other than You, the true, self-luminous Self, / I perceive no speaker of the self, O Lord, even among the gods;

17. O Lord, other than Thyself, the Omniscient Atman, the very Truth of intelligent nature, I do not see even among the gods One who could explain this: for all these, Brahma and others, invested with a body, have their minds deluded by Thy Maya and their attention is directed to external things.

11.7.16.p3

satyasya te sva-dṛśa ātmana ātmano 'nyaṃ $ vaktāram īśa vibudheṣv api nānucakṣe &

Other than You, the true, self-luminous Self, / I perceive no speaker of the self, O Lord, even among the gods;

11.7.17

sarve vimohita-dhiyas tava māyayeme % brahmādayas tanu-bhṛto bahir-artha-bhāvāḥ //

for all these embodied beings, beginning with Brahmā, are bewildered in mind / by Your creative power, with their dispositions fixed on external objects.

11.7.17.p2

tasmād bhavantam anavadyam ananta-pāraṃ $ sarva-jñam īśvaram akuṇṭha-vikuṇṭha-dhiṣṇyam &

Therefore, I, dispirited in mind and tormented by afflictions, / take refuge in You, the faultless, boundless,

18. Therefore I with my mind greatly afflicted in the miseries of life and turned away from the world, resort for shelter to Thee, Narayana, the friend of Nara, destitute of defects, of immeasurable nature, Omniscient, Supreme Ruler abiding in Vaikuntha, not affected by Time and other causes.

11.7.17.p3

tasmād bhavantam anavadyam ananta-pāraṃ $ sarva-jñam īśvaram akuṇṭha-vikuṇṭha-dhiṣṇyam &

Therefore, I, dispirited in mind and tormented by afflictions, / take refuge in You, the faultless, boundless,

11.7.18

nirviṇṇa-dhīr aham u he vṛjinābhitapto % nārāyaṇaṃ nara-sakhaṃ śaraṇaṃ prapadye //

all-knowing Lord whose realm is unhindered Vaikuṇṭha, / in Nārāyaṇa, the companion of Nara.

11.7.19

/0 śrī-bhagavān uvāca
prāyeṇa manujā loke loka-tattva-vicakṣaṇāḥ /
samuddharanti hy ātmānam ātmanaivāśubhāśayāt //

The Lord said:
Generally in this world, human beings discerning in the truth of the world
raise themselves up indeed by their own self from an unwholesome mindset.

19. The Lord said:— Mostly men in the world have insight into the true nature of the world and lift up their self by their own efforts from the evil cravings for worldly objects.

11.7.20

ātmano gurur ātmaiva puruṣasya viśeṣataḥ /
yat pratyakṣānumānābhyāṃ śreyo 'sāv anuvindate //

For man, especially, the self is its own teacher,
since by perception and inference he discovers the highest good.

20. Atman (Self) is indeed the preceptor of self, especially in the case of man endowed with all the faculties: for, both by direct perception and by inference he works out his own good.

11.7.21

puruṣatve ca māṃ dhīrāḥ sāṅkhya-yoga-viśāradāḥ /
āvistarāṃ prapaśyanti sarva-śakty-upabṛṃhitam //

And in the human form, wise men skilled in Sāṅkhya and yoga
see me clearly manifested, endowed with all powers.

21. And while in human life the wise, expert in Sankhya and Yoga practices, quite distinctly see Me the embodiment of all powers.

11.7.22

eka-dvi-tri-catus-pādo bahu-pādas tathāpadaḥ /
bahvyaḥ santi puraḥ sṛṣṭās tāsāṃ me pauruṣī priyā //

Many bodies have been created—having one, two, three, or four feet,
having many feet, or having no feet at all; of these, the human form is dear to me.

22. Many are the bodies created with one, two, three, or four feet, or many feet, or having no feet and of these the human form is the most beloved of Me.

11.7.23

atra māṃ mṛgayanty addhā yuktā hetubhir īśvaram /
gṛhyamāṇair guṇair liṅgair agrāhyam anumānataḥ //

Here, disciplined practitioners directly seek me, the Lord, through reasonings,
apprehending through perceivable qualities and marks that which is beyond perception by inference.

23. And while here in this human body, those that practise every course of yoga (are careful), certainly seek after Me, the Supreme, unperceived Ruler, by means of the qualities in the range of sense-perception or by inference through indicatory circumstances.

11.7.24

atrāpy udāharantīmam itihāsaṃ purātanam /
avadhūtasya saṃvādaṃ yador amita-tejasaḥ //

In this regard they cite this ancient history:
the conversation between an avadhūta and Yadu of boundless splendor.

24. On this subject a story of ancient times is also told in illustration, and it is a conversation between an Avadhuta, (a sky-clad ascetic) and Yadu of great prowess and intelligence (of great strength, both physical and mental.)

11.7.25

avadhūtaṃ dviyaṃ kañcic carantam akuto-bhayam /
kaviṃ nirīkṣya taruṇaṃ yaduḥ papraccha dharma-vit //

Seeing a certain twice-born avadhūta, a sage, a youth wandering free from all fear,
Yadu, knower of dharma, questioned him:

25. Yadu saw a youthful yet naked brahmin, full of wisdom, wandering about in fearlessness, and, eager to know dharma, put certain questions to him.

11.7.26

/0 śrī-yadur uvāca
kuto buddhir iyaṃ brahmann akartuḥ su-viśāradā /
yām āsādya bhavāl lokaṃ vidvāṃś carati bāla-vat //

Śrī Yadu said:
From where, O brāhmaṇa, comes this exceedingly profound wisdom of yours, who are inactive,
possessing which you wander the world like a child, although learned?

On this subject. D. On how it is easy in human life to seek after the knowledge of the Lord. 26. Yadu said:— O sage, how didst thou, doing nothing, get this extensive and clear wisdom, possessed of which thou, so full of light, goest about the world like a child.

11.7.27

prāyo dharmārtha-kāmeṣu vivitsāyāṃ ca mānavāḥ /
hetunaiva samīhanta āyuṣo yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ //

Generally, men strive for dharma, wealth, and desire, and for knowledge
only with a motive: for longevity, renown, and prosperity.

27. Generally men make endeavours for *dharma*, *artha*, and *Kama* as well as (the realisation of Atman) and that only with a motive such as the prolonging of life, acquisition of fame or wealth.

11.7.28

tvaṃ tu kalpaḥ kavir dakṣaḥ su-bhago 'mṛta-bhāṣaṇaḥ /
na kartā nehase kiñcij jaḍonmatta-piśāca-vat //

You, however, are capable, wise, skillful, handsome, and of sweet speech,
yet you act not, nor do you desire anything, like one dull, mad, or possessed by a spirit.

28. But thou art, able-bodied, full of wisdom and skill, good looking, sweet of the tongue (of winning accents): (however) thou dost nothing, likest nothing, like a dunce, a mad man or a ghost.

11.7.29

janeṣu dahyamāneṣu kāma-lobha-davāgninā /
na tapyase 'gninā mukto gaṅgāmbhaḥ-stha iva dvipaḥ //

While people are burning in the forest fire of lust and greed,
you are free from that fire and burn not, like an elephant standing in the water of the Gaṅgā.

29. While people are burning with the wild fire of desires and covetousness, thou art not afflicted by that fire, like an elephant set free and immersed in the waters of the Ganges.

11.7.30

tvaṃ hi naḥ pṛcchatāṃ brahmann ātmany ānanda-kāraṇam /
brūhi sparśa-vihīnasya bhavataḥ kevalātmanaḥ //

Indeed, tell us who are asking, O brāhmaṇa, the cause of bliss in your self—
you who are free from attachments, abiding in the pure self alone.

30. Be pleased to tell us that make earnest enquiry, O sage, the cause of this state of blissfulness in thee that art untouched by the world and art nothing but absolute Atman.

11.7.31

/0 śrī-bhagavān uvāca
yadunaivaṃ mahā-bhāgo brahmaṇyena su-medhasā /
pṛṣṭaḥ sabhājitaḥ prāha praśrayāvanataṃ dvijaḥ //

The Lord said:
Thus questioned and honored by Yadu, who was most fortunate, devoted to the brāhmaṇas, and wise,
the twice-born spoke to him as he bowed in humility.

31. The Lord said:— Thus requested by Yadu of good disposition and intelligence and devoted to brahmins, the blessed sage brahmin, respected by the prince, spoke to him who stood bending in modesty.

11.7.32

/0 śrī-brāhmaṇa uvāca
santi me guravo rājan bahavo buddhy-upaśritāḥ /
yato buddhim upādāya mukto 'ṭāmīha tān śṛṇu //

The brāhmaṇa said:
I have many teachers, O King, adopted by my intellect,
from whom taking wisdom I wander free in this world; hear of them:

32. The Brahmana said:— Many are my preceptors, O king, whom I adopted as such by force of my own understanding; with the wisdom imbibed from them, I go about free from attachments; of them (I shall tell thee): do thou listen.

11.7.33

pṛthivī vāyur ākāśam āpo 'gniś candramā raviḥ /
kapoto 'jagaraḥ sindhuḥ pataṅgo madhukṛd gajaḥ //

The earth, the wind, the sky, the water, the fire, the moon, the sun,
the dove, the python, the ocean, the moth, the honeybee, the elephant,

33. to 35. The earth, the air, the sky, water, fire, the moon, the sun, the pigeon, the boa-constructor, the sea, the moth, the bee, the elephant, the honey-gatherer, the deer, the fish, Pingala, the kurara, the child, the girl, the blacksmith, the serpent, the spider, the wasp,—these twenty-four are, O king, adopted by me as my preceptors; from their exemplary ways I learnt all that I had to learn here.

11.7.34

madhu-hā hariṇo mīnaḥ piṅgalā kuraro 'rbhakaḥ /
kumārī śara-kṛt sarpa ūrṇanābhiḥ supeśakṛt //

the honey-gatherer, the deer, the fish, Piṅgalā, the osprey, the infant,
the young maiden, the arrow-maker, the serpent, the spider, and the wasp.

11.7.35

ete me guravo rājan catur-viṃśatir āśritāḥ /
śikṣā vṛttibhir eteṣām anvaśikṣam ihātmanaḥ //

These twenty-four teachers, O King, have been accepted by me;
from the behaviors of these I have learned lessons here for myself.

11.7.36

yato yad anuśikṣāmi yathā vā nāhuṣātmaja /
tat tathā puruṣa-vyāghra nibodha kathayāmi te //

What I learned from which, and how, O son of Nahuṣa,
that I shall tell you in that manner, O tiger among men; listen.

36. What I learnt from each, O son of Nahusha's race, O tiger among men, I shall describe in full; do thou learn it (understand it).

11.7.37

bhūtair ākramyamāṇo 'pi dhīro daiva-vaśānugaiḥ /
tad vidvān na calen mārgād anvaśikṣaṃ kṣiter vratam //

Though oppressed by beings who are driven by destiny,
the wise man, knowing this, should not swerve from the path: I learned this vow from the earth.

37. Though trodden down by other beings who act under the direction of Providence, a wise man ought not to stray from his path;— and this vow of life I learnt from the Earth.

11.7.38

śaśvat parārtha-sarvehaḥ parārthaikānta-sambhavaḥ /
sādhuḥ śikṣeta bhū-bhṛtto naga-śiṣyaḥ parātmatām //

Constantly striving in all actions for others, whose existence is entirely for others' sake,
a pious person should learn selflessness from the mountain, becoming a disciple of the tree.

38. A righteous man should learn from the Hill (the supporter of the earth) to dedicate always all his activty for the good of other beings and his very existence absolutely for their benefit: so I, as a pupil of the hill, learnt how I am intended for others.

11.7.39

prāṇa-vṛttyaiva santuṣyen munir naivendriya-priyaiḥ /
jñānaṃ yathā na naśyeta nāvakīryeta vāṅ-manaḥ //

A sage should be content merely with the sustenance of his vital breath, not with pleasing the senses,
so that his knowledge may not be lost, nor his speech and mind scattered.

39. Thus a sage should be silent contented with merely supporting his life and never yearn for what gratifies the senses, so that knowledge may not be obscured and the tongue and the mind may not be dissipated on worthless objects.

11.7.40

viṣayeṣv āviśan yogī nānā-dharmeṣu sarvataḥ /
guṇa-doṣa-vyapetātmā na viṣajjeta vāyu-vat //

Though entering sense objects possessing diverse natures on every side,
a yogin, his self detached from virtues and faults, should not become attached, like the wind.

40. Though surrounded by various objects on all sides, a yogin, should not like Vayu (the air) become attached to anything, his mind remaining unaffected by the good or the evil consequences.

11.7.41

pārthiveṣv iha deheṣu praviṣṭas tad-guṇāśrayaḥ /
guṇair na yujyate yogī gandhair vāyur ivātma-dṛk //

Entered into earthly bodies here and resting in their qualities,
the yogin who sees the self is not united with their qualities, just as the wind is not united with aromas.

41. Though, in the life here, he is placed in physical (earthly) bodies as a support of their qualities, the Yogin who looks towards Atman is not mixed up with (influenced by) those qualities even as Vayu is not with various kinds of smell.

11.7.42

antarhitaś ca sthira-jaṅgameṣu brahmātma-bhāvena samanvayena /
vyāptyāvyavacchedam asaṅgam ātmano munir nabhastvaṃ vitatasya bhāvayet //

Concealed within both motionless and moving beings by his identity as Brahman and his pervasive presence,
the sage should contemplate the self's unbroken, unattached spatial nature, like the expanse of sky.

42. Though invested with mobile or immobile bodies, the sage should contemplate Atman, all-pervading like the sky, as Brahman (the Perfect), as self and as one connected with every thing, as subject to no limitation in respect of Time and Place and as untouched by everything else.

11.7.43

tejo-'b-anna-mayair bhāvair meghādyair vāyuneritaiḥ /
na spṛśyate nabhas tadvat kāla-sṛṣṭair guṇaiḥ pumān //

Just as the sky is not touched by forms made of fire, water, and earth, like clouds driven by the wind,
so too the person is not touched by the qualities created by time.

43. Just as the sky is not touched by the things scattered by the wind such as the clouds constituted of fire, water and earth, so also the jiva is not touched by the gunas thrust upon him by Time.

11.7.44

svacchaḥ prakṛtitaḥ snigdho mādhuryas tīrtha-bhūr nṛṇām /
muniḥ punāty apāṃ mitram īkṣopasparśa-kīrtanaiḥ //

Pure by nature, gentle, sweet, and a sacred place of pilgrimage for humans,
the sage, like a friend of waters, purifies by sight, touch, and praising.

44. Naturally pure, smooth and soft and comforting is a hallowed spot; so is the sage among men. He is a friend of holy waters, i. e., he, like unto holy waters, purifies others by mere sight and touch and by the uttrances of his name.

11.7.45

tejasvī tapasā dīpto durdharṣodara-bhājanaḥ /
sarva-bhakṣyo 'pi yuktātmā nādatte malam agni-vat //

Radiant, blazing with ascetic penance, possessing a stomach difficult to overcome,
and consuming everything, the self-controlled person does not take on impurity, like fire.

45. Full of brilliant force, lustrous by virtue of Tapas, unperturbed, not inclined to earn food, the sage, like fire, consumes anything and everything, but nothing that is impure.

11.7.46

kvacic channaḥ kvacit spaṣṭa upāsyaḥ śreya icchatām /
bhuṅkte sarvatra dātṛṇāṃ dahan prāg-uttarāśubham //

Sometimes concealed, sometimes obvious, worthy of worship by those desiring their welfare,
he eats everywhere, burning the past and future sins of the givers.

46. Somewhere (in the midst of worldly men) he remains unnoticed: somewhere (among devout men) he allows himself to be distinctly known, so that those that seek after (true wisdom) the highest blessings may worship him; he eats what (pious) donors offer, burning down their demerit of the past and future.

11.7.47

sva-māyayā sṛṣṭam idaṃ sad-asal-lakṣaṇaṃ vibhuḥ /
praviṣṭa īyate tat-tat- svarūpo 'gnir ivaidhasi //

The all-pervading Lord, having entered into this [world] created by his own creative power, characterized by the real and unreal,
appears in those respective forms, like fire in pieces of firewood.

47. The pervading Atman enters this Universe of various things, high and low, created by his own Maya, and appears to be like every one of those things, just as fire does in different kinds of fuel.

11.7.48

visargādyāḥ śmaśānāntā bhāvā dehasya nātmanaḥ /
kalānām iva candrasya kālenāvyakta-vartmanā //

States from birth to the cremation ground belong to the body, not to the self,
just as the phases of the moon [belong to the moon], brought about by time whose path is unperceived.

48. The various states beginning with birth and ending with death, belong only to the body, not to Atman, just as the appearance and disappearance are caused by Time of unmanifest force only to the digits of the moon (rays), but not to the moon.

11.7.49

kālena hy ogha-vegena bhūtānāṃ prabhavāpyayau /
nityāv api na dṛśyete ātmano 'gner yathārciṣām //

Indeed, due to the swift current of time, the origin and dissolution of beings
are not seen, though continuous, just as the self [does not see] the flames of fire.

49. By Time rushing on like torrents are brought about the origin and destruction of beings, but these states, though eternal, do not affect Atman, just as only the flames, and not the principle of fire, have a beginning and an end.

11.7.50

guṇair guṇān upādatte yathā-kālaṃ vimuñcati /
na teṣu yujyate yogī gobhir gā iva go-patiḥ //

With his senses he takes in sense objects and relinquishes them at the proper time;
the yogin is not bound to them, just as the sun with its rays takes in waters.

50. He receives the objects through the senses or rejects them, according to the time: but he is not attached to them, just as the sun draws, or sends down, water only with his rays and he is not himself affected thereby.

11.7.51

budhyate sve na bhedena vyakti-stha iva tad-gataḥ /
lakṣyate sthūla-matibhir ātmā cāvasthito 'rka-vat //

He is not perceived in his own distinct nature, as if resting in the manifestation,
and the self is perceived as positioned [in bodies] by those of dull intellect, like the sun [reflected in water].

51. In the essential form, Atman is not perceived as different, (but only when reflected in phenomenal things); Atman is perceived as different like a thing subject to conditions, for instance, the sun, by men of gross understanding.

11.7.52

nāti-snehaḥ prasaṅgo vā kartavyaḥ kvāpi kenacit /
kurvan vindeta santāpaṃ kapota iva dīna-dhīḥ //

Excessive affection or attachment should never be formed anywhere by anyone;
by doing so, one would suffer distress, like a wretched dove.

52. Strong attachments or intimate association should never be formed with anything: he who does it will reap only grief, like the pigeon of poor sense.

11.7.53

kapotaḥ kaścanāraṇye kṛta-nīḍo vanaspatau /
kapotyā bhāryayā sārdham uvāsa katicit samāḥ //

A certain dove in a forest, having built a nest in a tree,
lived there for some years together with his wife, a female dove.

53. In a certain forest, on a certain tree, a pigeon built a nest and with his mate lived there for some years.

11.7.54

kapotau sneha-guṇita- hṛdayau gṛha-dharmiṇau /
dṛṣṭiṃ dṛṣṭyāṅgam aṅgena buddhiṃ buddhyā babandhatuḥ //

The two doves, their hearts multiplied by affection, practicing householder life,
bound eye to eye, limb to limb, and mind to mind.

54. With their hearts bound fast with love, the pair led the married life, heart knit to heart, eye to eye and body to body.

11.7.55

śayyāsanāṭana-sthāna vārtā-krīḍāśanādikam /
mithunī-bhūya viśrabdhau ceratur vana-rājiṣu //

In resting, sitting, walking, standing, conversing, playing, eating, and the like,
becoming a pair, confident, they roamed through the forest groves.

55. They were both together in bed, in seat, in rambles, in rest, in conversation, in sports, at meals, and in everything; and free of anxiety they went about in the woods.

11.7.56

yaṃ yaṃ vāñchati sā rājan tarpayanty anukampitā /
taṃ taṃ samanayat kāmaṃ kṛcchreṇāpy ajitendriyaḥ //

Whatever she desired, O King, the uncontrolled bird fulfilled for her,
gratifying her out of compassion, even with difficulty.

56. As she gave him satisfaction and enlisted his sympathy, whatever she desired, he obtained for her at any cost, for he had no control over his senses.

11.7.57

kapotī prathamaṃ garbhaṃ gṛhṇantī kāla āgate /
aṇḍāni suṣuve nīḍe sta-patyuḥ sannidhau satī //

The faithful female dove, conceiving for the first time when the season arrived,
laid eggs in the nest in the presence of her husband.

57. When the season came, she conceived for the first time and in the very presence of her mate in the nest she laid eggs.

11.7.58

teṣu kāle vyajāyanta racitāvayavā hareḥ /
śaktibhir durvibhāvyābhiḥ komalāṅga-tanūruhāḥ //

From them, in time, there were born young birds with delicate limbs and soft feathers,
their bodies formed by Hari's incomprehensible powers.

58 & 59. Through inconceivable powers of Hari they were fledged in due time with all limbs well-formed and with their tender body covered with down: the parent birds, in paternal affection and delight, nourished their young ones and were very happy to hear them sweetly cry and lisp.

11.7.59

prajāḥ pupuṣatuḥ prītau dampatī putra-vatsalau /
śṛṇvantau kūjitaṃ tāsāṃ nirvṛtau kala-bhāṣitaiḥ //

The parents, affectionate toward their offspring, delighted, nurtured their young,
hearing their chirping and rejoicing in their sweet sounds.

11.7.60

tāsāṃ patatraiḥ su-sparśaiḥ kūjitair mugdha-ceṣṭitaiḥ /
pratyudgamair adīnānāṃ pitarau mudam āpatuḥ //

By their soft feathers pleasant to touch, their chirping, their charming movements,
and their running out to greet them, the joyful parents experienced delight.

60. With their feathers very soft to the touch and their sweet cries and charming activities and at their coming forth to meet them, the parents were greatly rejoiced.

11.7.61

snehānubaddha-hṛdayāv anyonyaṃ viṣṇu-māyayā /
vimohitau dīna-dhiyau śiśūn pupuṣatuḥ prajāḥ //

Their hearts bound together by affection through the creative power of Viṣṇu,
bewildered, of poor judgment, they nurtured their young offspring.

61. With their hearts knit in mutual affection and deluded through Vishnu's Maya the parent-birds of poor sense brought up their young ones (with care).

11.7.62

ekadā jagmatus tāsām annārthaṃ tau kuṭumbinau /
paritaḥ kānane tasminn arthinau ceratuś ciram //

Once, those two householders went out to find food for them;
seeking it, they wandered for a long time all around in that forest.

62. On one occasion the pair went out in search of prey for them: all about the forest they wandered a long while in quest of food.

11.7.63

dṛṣṭvā tān lubdhakaḥ kaścid yadṛcchāto vane-caraḥ /
jagṛhe jālam ātatya carataḥ svālayāntike //

A certain hunter wandering in the forest, seeing by chance
those [young ones] moving about near their dwelling, spread a net and captured them.

63. A certain hunter going into the forest by chance, caught sight of them, spread the nest and caught them moving about near their nest.

11.7.64

kapotaś ca kapotī ca prajā-poṣe sadotsukau /
gatau poṣaṇam ādāya sva-nīḍam upajagmatuḥ //

The male pigeon and female pigeon, always anxious to nourish their offspring, / having gone to find food, returned toward their own nest.

64. The Kapotha and the Kapothi, always anxious to nourish their children, had gone out and having got some nourishment returned to their nest with it.

11.7.65

kapotī svātmajān vīkṣya bālakān jāla-samvṛtān /
tān abhyadhāvat krośantī krośato bhṛśa-duḥkhitā //

Seeing her young offspring caught in the net, / the female pigeon, wailing in intense grief, rushed forward to them as they wailed.

65. Kapothi saw her young ones caught in the net, and screaming in great anxiety, flew to them that were screaming.

11.7.66

sāsakṛt sneha-guṇitā dīna-cittāja-māyayā /
svayaṃ cābadhyata śicā baddhān paśyanty apasmṛtiḥ //

Bound continuously by attachment through the creative power of the Unborn, her mind pitiable, / she lost all awareness on seeing them bound, and herself was bound in the snare.

66. Bound by affection the bewildered mother, through the Lord's Maya, was also caught in the meshes, as she was only watching her young ones in the net and forgot herself.

11.7.67

kapotaḥ svātmajān baddhān ātmano 'py adhikān priyān /
bhāryāṃ cātma-samāṃ dīno vilalāpāti-duḥkhitaḥ //

The male pigeon, seeing bound his children who were dearer to him than his own self / and his wife equal to himself, lamenting, became utterly wretched:

67. The poor Kapotha seeing his own young ones dearer to him than his own self and also his companion equal to him caught in the net, wailed in great grief.

11.7.68

aho me paśyatāpāyam alpa-puṇyasya durmateḥ /
atṛptasyākṛtārthasya gṛhas trai-vargiko hataḥ //

"Alas, look at the ruin of me, unfortunate and wicked-minded! / Unsatisfied, with purpose unfulfilled, my household based on the threefold aims of life is destroyed.

68. Ah! what calamity has befallen me of little merit and little sense, not contented and not accomplished of any purpose: my house of threefold purpose is gone.

11.7.69

anurūpānukūlā ca yasya me pati-devatā /
śūnye gṛhe māṃ santyajya putraiḥ svar yāti sādhubhiḥ //

She who was suitable and agreeable to me, holding her husband as her deity, / abandoning me in an empty house, goes to heaven together with our good children.

69. Agreeable and useful, my companion that looked upon me as a deity, leaves me to the empty house and with her good children goes to heaven.

11.7.70

so 'haṃ śūnye gṛhe dīno mṛta-dāro mṛta-prajaḥ /
jijīviṣe kim arthaṃ vā vidhuro duḥkha-jīvitaḥ //

How can I, wretched in an empty home, my wife dead, my children dead, / wish to live on—a widower living in sorrow?"

70. Such as I am, why should I think of living on, in bereavement and in miseries, in the empty house, helpless, wife and children dead?

11.7.71

tāṃs tathaivāvṛtān śigbhir mṛtyu-grastān viceṣṭataḥ /
svayaṃ ca kṛpaṇaḥ śikṣu paśyann apy abudho 'patat //

Seeing them entangled in the ropes, caught by death, and struggling helplessly, / the foolish, pitiable bird, even though watching, fell into the snares himself.

71. Seeing them entangled in the net and so struggling in the jaws of death the Kapotha also threw himself into the meshes.

11.7.72

taṃ labdhvā lubdhakaḥ krūraḥ kapotaṃ gṛha-medhinam /
kapotakān kapotīṃ ca siddhārthaḥ prayayau gṛham //

Having captured the householder pigeon, / along with his fledglings and the female pigeon, the cruel hunter, his goal achieved, departed for home.

72. The cruel hunter, having also obtained that pigeon who was the Lord of the house, and, accomplished of his purpose, returned home with the young Kapothas and Kapothi.

11.7.73

evaṃ kuṭumby aśāntātmā dvandvārāmaḥ patatri-vat /
puṣṇan kuṭumbaṃ kṛpaṇaḥ sānubandho 'vasīdati //

Thus the householder of unpeaceful mind, delighting in worldly duality, / nourishing his family like that bird, is a pitiable creature who sinks down together with his attachments.

73. Thus the family man of poor sense who with a heart not yet withdrawn from worldly objects, finds delight only in the married life, like that bird, and nourishes his family, does with all his relations come to grief. 74. That individual who falls upon human life which is the open gate for Mukti, but who like the bird becomes attached to the householder's life is spoken of and considered (by the wise) as one that has fallen from the eminence to which he had attained.

11.7.74

yaḥ prāpya mānuṣaṃ lokaṃ mukti-dvāram apāvṛtam /
gṛheṣu khaga-vat saktas tam ārūḍha-cyutaṃ viduḥ //

One who, having attained human birth—an open door to liberation— / remains attached to the household like a bird, is known as one who has fallen after climbing high.