Bhagavatapurana 12.13

12.13.1

/0 sūta uvāca
yaṃ brahmā varuṇendra-rudra-marutaḥ stunvanti divyaiḥ stavair $ vedaiḥ sāṅga-pada-kramopaniṣadair gāyanti yaṃ sāma-gāḥ &
yaṃ brahmā varuṇendra-rudra-marutaḥ stunvanti divyaiḥ stavair $ vedaiḥ sāṅga-pada-kramopaniṣadair gāyanti yaṃ sāma-gāḥ &
dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṃ yogino % yasyāntaṃ na viduḥ surāsura-gaṇā devāya tasmai namaḥ //

Sūta said: / Homage to that deity whom Brahmā, Varuṇa, Indra, Rudra, and the Maruts praise with divine hymns, / whom the Sāma-singers sing with the Vedas together with their auxiliary limbs, word-by-word recitations, step-by-step recitations, and the Upaniṣads; / whom yogins behold with a mind steadfast in meditation and fixed on Him; and whose end the hosts of gods and demons do not know.

1. Suta said:— Salutation to that Almighty Lord whom Brahma, Varuna, Indra, Rudra, and Maruts praise by singing excellent hymns and Vedas exhibiting the application of the six Angas (accessary disciplines), dividing the text into words, and repeating the words in a particular order, along with Upanishads, whom the followers of SamaVeda celebrate by chanting the Vedic hymns, whom Yogins realise by means of their mental vision which is made steady by meditation and steadily fixed on the Lord and whom the gods and asuras know to be unlimited.

12.13.2

* //
pṛṣṭhe bhrāmyad amanda-mandara-giri-grāvāgra-kaṇḍūyanān $ nidrāloḥ kamaṭhākṛter bhagavataḥ śvāsānilāḥ pāntu vaḥ &
pṛṣṭhe bhrāmyad amanda-mandara-giri-grāvāgra-kaṇḍūyanān $ nidrāloḥ kamaṭhākṛter bhagavataḥ śvāsānilāḥ pāntu vaḥ &
yat-saṃskāra-kalānuvartana-vaśād velā-nibhenāmbhasāṃ % yātāyātam atandritaṃ jala-nidher nādyāpi viśrāmyati //

May the breaths of the Lord in the form of a tortoise protect you—as He grew drowsy from the scratching of the rough points of Mandara mountain spinning rapidly on His back— / breaths by following the lingering trace of whose impetus the constant rising and ebbing of the ocean's waters, appearing as tides, does not rest even today.

2. May you be protected by the breaths of the glorious Lord in the form of a tortoise inclined as it were in sleep, being scratched and soothed by the ends of the rocks of the Mount Mandara which rapidly turned on his back! On account of the still unexhausted impetus communicated by the turning of the Mount Mandara the constant rise and fall of the waters of the sea in the form of waves have to this day continued without a pause.

12.13.3

* //
purāṇa-saṅkhyā-sambhūtim asya vācya-prayojane /
dānaṃ dānasya māhātmyaṃ pāṭhādeś ca nibodhata //

Learn of the number and origin of the Purāṇas, its subject matter and purpose, / the gifting [of it], the greatness of that gift, and the reward of its recitation.

3. Do you note the great extent of the Puranas the main subject and the object of this work, the great merit of making gifts and the virtue (merit) thereof as well as of reading and listening to it.

12.13.4

brāhmaṃ daśa sahasrāṇi pādmaṃ pañcona-ṣaṣṭi ca /
śrī-vaiṣṇavaṃ trayo-viṃśac catur-viṃśati śaivakam //

The Brāhma Purāṇa has ten thousand [verses]; the Pādma, fifty-five; / the Śrī-Vaiṣṇava, twenty-three; the Śaivaka, twenty-four.

4. The Brahma Purana comprises ten thousand slokas; Padma-Purana fifty thousands: Vishnu-Purana, twenty-three thousands: and Saiva Purana twenty-four thousands.

12.13.5

daśāṣṭau śrī-bhāgavataṃ nāradaṃ pañca-viṃśati /
mārkaṇḍaṃ nava vāhnaṃ ca daśa-pañca catuḥ-śatam //

The Śrī-Bhāgavata has eighteen; the Nārada, twenty-five; / the Mārkaṇḍa, nine; and the Vāhna, ten thousand five hundred.

5. SrimadBhagavata eight and ten thousands, Narada twenty-five thousands: Markandeya nine-thousands: Agni Purana fifteen thousand and four hundreds.

12.13.6

catur-daśa bhaviṣyaṃ syāt tathā pañca-śatāni ca /
daśāṣṭau brahma-vaivartaṃ laiṅgam ekādaśaiva tu //

The Bhaviṣya has fourteen thousand and five hundred; / the Brahma-vaivarta, eighteen; and the Laiṅga, eleven.

6. The Bhavishya Purana fourteen thousand five hundred: Brahma Vaivarta eighteen thousands, Linga eleven thousands.

12.13.7

catur-viṃśati vārāham ekāśīti-sahasrakam /
skāndaṃ śataṃ tathā caikaṃ vāmanaṃ daśa kīrtitam //

The Vārāha has twenty-four; the Skānda is proclaimed / as eighty-one thousand and one hundred; and the Vāmana, ten.

7. Varaha Purana twenty-four thousands: Skanda eighty one thousands: and Vamana eleven thousands.

12.13.8

kaurmaṃ sapta-daśākhyātaṃ mātsyaṃ tat tu catur-daśa /
ekona-viṃśat sauparṇaṃ brahmāṇḍaṃ dvādaśaiva tu //

The Kaurma is said to be seventeen; the Mātsya, fourteen; / the Sauparṇa, nineteen; and the Brahmāṇḍa, twelve.

8. Kurma seventeen thousands, Matsya fourteen thousands: Garuda Purana nineteen thousands: Brahmanda twelve thousands.

12.13.9

evaṃ purāṇa-sandohaś catur-lakṣa udāhṛtaḥ /
tatrāṣṭadaśa-sāhasraṃ śrī-bhāgavataṃ iṣyate //

Thus the total collection of the Purāṇas is said to be four hundred thousand [verses]; / among them, the Śrī-Bhāgavata is held to be eighteen thousand.

9. Thus the extent of Puranic collection is stated to be four lakhs (four hundred thousands) and of this SrimadBhagavata consists of eighteen thousand Granthas.

12.13.10

idaṃ bhagavatā pūrvaṃ brahmaṇe nābhi-paṅkaje /
sthitāya bhava-bhītāya kāruṇyāt samprakāśitam //

This was formerly revealed out of compassion by the Lord to Brahmā, / who stood on the lotus of His navel, terrified of worldly existence.

10. This Bhagavata graciously revealed at first by the glorious Lord Himself unto the four-faced Brahma seated on the lotus of His navel and afraid of Samsara.

12.13.11

ādi-madhyāvasāneṣu vairāgyākhyāna-saṃyutam /
hari-līlā-kathā-vrātā- mṛtānandita-sat-suram //

It is filled with discourses on dispassion in the beginning, middle, and end, / delighting virtuous devotees and gods with the nectar of narratives of Hari's divine play.

11. It presents in the beginning, in the middle and at the end, discourses on the importance of renunciation: it delights the righteous as well as the gods with the nectar of numerous accounts celebrating the sportful activities of Hari.

12.13.12

sarva-vedānta-sāraṃ yad brahmātmaikatva-lakṣaṇam /
vastv advitīyaṃ tan-niṣṭhaṃ kaivalyaika-prayojanam //

It is the essence of all Vedānta, characterised by the oneness of Brahman and the self, / established in the non-dual reality, and having absolute liberation as its sole aim.

12. The main subject of this Purana is the quintessence of all the Vedantas, which consists in declaring the oneness of Brahman and Atman [D. Paramatman], an absolute existence without a second, and the greatest object is to ensure Moksha.

12.13.13

prauṣṭhapadyāṃ paurṇamāsyāṃ hema-siṃha-samanvitam /
dadāti yo bhāgavataṃ sa yāti paramāṃ gatim //

Whoever gives the Bhāgavata on the full moon day of the month of Prauṣṭhapada, / seated upon a golden lion-throne, attains the supreme destination.

13. He who makes a gift of this book placed on a golden lion on the Full moon day of Bhadrapada attains to the highest goal.

12.13.14

rājante tāvad anyāni purāṇāni satāṃ gaṇe /
yāvad bhāgavataṃ naiva śrūyate 'mṛta-sāgaram //

Other Purāṇas shine among the assembly of virtuous devotees only so long / as the Bhāgavata, the ocean of nectar, is not heard.

14. Other Puranas shine before the righteous listeners only till SrimadBhagavata the great work is not directly presented.

12.13.15

sarva-vedānta-sāraṃ hi śrī-bhāgavatam iṣyate /
tad-rasāmṛta-tṛptasya nānyatra syād ratiḥ kvacit //

For the Śrī-Bhāgavata is held to be the essence of all Vedānta; / for one satisfied with the nectar of its aesthetic flavor, there can be loving attachment nowhere else.

15. SrimadBhagavata is indeed admitted to be the very essence of all the Vedantas: one that has found satisfaction on drinking the nectarine essence thereof cannot find delight in any-thing else.

12.13.16

nimna-gānāṃ yathā gaṅgā devānām acyuto yathā /
vaiṣṇavānāṃ yathā śambhuḥ purāṇānām idam tathā //

Just as the Gaṅgā is among rivers, just as Acyuta is among gods, / and just as Śambhu is among Vaiṣṇavas, so is this among Purāṇas.

16. Ganga is foremost among rivers, the Lord Achyuta among the gods, Siva among the devotees of Vishnu, so this Purana is first of all the Puranas.

12.13.17

kṣetrāṇāṃ caiva sarveṣāṃ yathā kāśī hy anuttamā /
tathā purāṇa-vrātānāṃ śrīmad-bhāgavataṃ dvijāḥ //

Just as Kāśī is supreme among all holy places, / so, O twice-born ones, is the Śrīmad-Bhāgavata among the multitude of Purāṇas.

17 Of all the holy places, Kasi is indeed unequalled by any other: similarly, of all the Puranas SrimadBahgavata is without an

equal, O Brahmins.

12.13.17.p1

śrīmad-bhāgavataṃ purāṇam amalaṃ yad vaiṣṇavānāṃ priyaṃ $ yasmin pāramahaṃsyam ekam amalaṃ jñānaṃ paraṃ gīyate &

The Śrīmad-Bhāgavata is the spotless Purāṇa dear to Vaiṣṇavas, / in which the singular, immaculate supreme knowledge of the state of the supreme ascetic is sung;

18. Srimad Bhagavata is a faultless Purana, most beloved of Sri Vishnu's devotees: herein is sweetly expounded that supreme and pure knowledge which is the one thing to be attained to by Paramahamsas: and it is here that knowledge, renunciation, devotion and the cessation of all Karma are distinctly explained: he who devoutly listens to it, repeats it, investigates into it will become wise and obtain release from Samsara.

12.13.18

tatra jñāna-virāga-bhakti-sahitaṃ naiṣkarmyam āviskṛtaṃ % tac chṛṇvan su-paṭhan vicāraṇa-paro bhaktyā vimucyen naraḥ //

in it, freedom from karmic reaction accompanied by knowledge, dispassion, and devotion is revealed; / a man who hears it, recites it well, and reflects upon it with devotion is liberated.

12.13.18.p2

kasmai yena vibhāsito 'yam atulo jñāna-pradīpaḥ purā $ tad-rūpeṇa ca nāradāya munaye kṛṣṇāya tad-rūpiṇā &

By whom this peerless lamp of knowledge was formerly revealed to Brahmā, / and through him to the sage Nārada, and through him to Kṛṣṇa-Dvaipāyana [Vyāsa],

19. We contemplate that Supreme Truth, eternally blessed, untouched by sorrows and impurity, being absolutely pure,—that Paramatman Narayana by whom this unsurpassed light of wisdom was in the beginning graciously revealed to Brahma, and through him to Narada and through him to the great Yogin Sukacharya and through him to Parikshit graciously revived by the glorious Lord Himself.

12.13.18.p3

kasmai yena vibhāsito 'yam atulo jñāna-pradīpaḥ purā $ tad-rūpeṇa ca nāradāya munaye kṛṣṇāya tad-rūpiṇā &

and through him to Śuka, king of yogins, and out of compassion through him to Viṣṇurāta: / on that pure, stainless, sorrowless, immortal, supreme truth we meditate.

12.13.19

yogīndrāya tad-ātmanātha bhagavad-rātāya kāruṇyatas % tac chuddhaṃ vimalaṃ viśokam amṛtaṃ satyaṃ paraṃ dhīmahi //

and through him to Śuka, king of yogins, and out of compassion through him to Viṣṇurāta: / on that pure, stainless, sorrowless, immortal, supreme truth we meditate.

12.13.20

namas tasmai bhagavate vāsudevāya sākṣiṇe /
ya idam kṛpayā kasmai vyācacakṣe mumukṣave //

Homage to that Lord Vāsudeva, the witness, / who out of compassion expounded this to Brahmā, who was yearning for liberation.

20. I bow to the glorious Lord Vasudeva, the witness of all, who out of grace expounded it to Brahma who sought after release from Samsara.

12.13.21

yogīndrāya namas tasmai śukāya brahma-rūpiṇe /
saṃsāra-sarpa-daṣṭaṃ yo viṣṇu-rātam amūmucat //

Homage to that lord of yogins, Śuka, the embodiment of Brahman, / who freed Viṣṇurāta when he was bitten by the serpent of the cycle of rebirth.

21. I bow to the great Sage Suka who is another form of Brahman and who enabled Parikshit, bitten by the serpent of Samsara, to obtain salvation.

12.13.22

bhave bhave yathā bhaktiḥ pādayos tava jāyate /
tathā kuruṣva deveśa nāthas tvaṃ no yataḥ prabho //

O Lord of gods, grant that devotion to Your feet may arise in birth after birth, / for You, O Lord, are our master.

22. O Almighty Lord, Thou art our protector, O God of gods, may Thou be pleased to so dispose us (our mind) that devotion to Thy feet may grow (in it) in every life!

12.13.23

nāma-saṅkīrtanaṃ yasya sarva-pāpa praṇāśanam /
praṇāmo duḥkha-śamanas taṃ namāmi hariṃ param //

I bow to the supreme Hari, the communal chanting of whose name / destroys all sins, and bow before whom relieves all suffering.

23. To utter whose name is the way to get rid of all sin and to bow to whom is the remedy for all sorrows,—I bow to that Supreme Hari.