Bhagavatapurana 12.3: atha tṛtīyo'dhyāyaḥ

12.3.1

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
dṛṣṭvātmani jaye vyagrān nṛpān hasati bhūr iyam /
aho mā vijigīṣanti mṛtyoḥ krīḍanakā nṛpāḥ //

Śrī Śuka said:
Seeing kings absorbed in conquering it, this earth laughs:
'Alas, these kings, playthings of death, wish to conquer me!

1. Sri Suka said:— Noticing the kings concerned only with victories over herself, this earth laughs at them, ‘Oh! these kings, playthings of Death, wish to conquer me’.

12.3.2

kāma eṣa narendrāṇāṃ moghaḥ syād viduṣām api /
yena phenopame piṇḍe ye 'ti-viśrambhitā nṛpāḥ //

This desire of rulers of men would be futile even for wise men,
through which kings place excessive trust in a mass resembling foam.

2. Nessarily fruitless is this desire of those kings who, as lords of men are aware of it, and still have great faith in the body which is transient like foam.

12.3.3

pūrvaṃ nirjitya ṣaḍ-vargaṃ jeṣyāmo rāja-mantriṇaḥ /
tataḥ saciva-paurāpta- karīndrān asya kaṇṭakān //

'First conquering the group of six [senses], we shall conquer the king's ministers;
then the counselors, citizens, allies, and noble elephants—the thorns in his side.

3. & 4. ‘Having at the outset conquered the six (enemies), evil qualities (such as desire, hate, etc), we shall then subjugate the ministers of kings, citizens, friends and masters of elephants and also the enemies; thus by degrees we shall bring under subjection the earth surrounded by oceans'. With hearts thus tied down to their desires they do not notice the death near by.

12.3.4

evaṃ krameṇa jeṣyāmaḥ pṛthvīṃ sāgara-mekhalām /
ity āśā-baddha-hṛdayā na paśyanty antike 'ntakam //

In this manner, step by step, we will conquer the earth girdled by the ocean.'
With hearts bound by hope in this way, they do not see death near at hand.

12.3.5

samudrāvaraṇāṃ jitvā māṃ viśanty abdhim ojasā /
kiyad ātma-jayasyaitan muktir ātma-jaye phalam //

Having conquered me whose garment is the sea, through might they enter the ocean.
What does this conquest of oneself amount to? The fruit of self-conquest is liberation.

5. By their prowess they conquer me as far as the seas; and then (from unquenched thirst for more) enter and encroach upon the sea—"Of what account is this (conquest)",—say they, "against our self-control? Moksha is the fruit of self-control (not the sovereignty over the world).

12.3.6

yāṃ visṛjyaiva manavas tat-sutāś ca kurūdvaha /
gatā yathāgataṃ yuddhe tāṃ māṃ jeṣyanty abuddhayaḥ //

Having abandoned me, the Manus and their sons, O leader of the Kurus,
have departed in battle just as they came; those fools seek to conquer that very me!

6. Scion of Kurus, kings foolishly wish to win me in battle, whom those Manus and their sons have abandoned and returned as they came.

12.3.7

mat-kṛte pitṛ-putrāṇāṃ bhrātṛṇāṃ cāpi vigrahaḥ /
jāyate hy asatāṃ rājye mamatā-baddha-cetasām //

For my sake conflict arises between fathers and sons, and even brothers,
among the wicked whose minds are bound by the sense of 'mine' in the kingdom.

7. For my sake springs up dispute between the father and sons, between brothers, and between those bad kings whose heart is fastened to their kingdoms with the notion of 'mine'.

12.3.8

mamaiveyaṃ mahī kṛtsnā na te mūḍheti vādinaḥ /
spardhamānā mitho ghnanti mriyante mat-kṛte nṛpāḥ //

Saying, "This entire earth is mine alone, not yours, fool!",
kings, competing with one another, slay and are slain for my sake.'

8. On my account kings dispute:—'This earth is wholly mine, O fool, and not yours', and in rivalry they kill one another and lay down their own life.

12.3.9

pṛthuḥ purūravā gādhir nahuṣo bharato 'rjunaḥ /
māndhātā sagaro rāmaḥ khaṭvāṅgo dhundhuhā raghuḥ //

Pṛthu, Purūravas, Gādhi, Nahuṣa, Bharata, Arjuna,
Māndhātṛ, Sagara, Rāma, Khaṭvāṅga, the slayer of Dhundhu, Raghu,

9. & 10. Prithu, Pururava, Gadhi, Nahusha, Bharata, Arjuna, Mandhata, Sagara, Rama, Khatvanga, Dhundhu, Raghu, Trinabindu, Yayati, Saryati, Santanu, Gaya, Bhagiratha, Kuvalayasva, Kakutstha, Naishadha, Nriga, Hiranyakasipu, Vritra, Ravana;

12.3.10

tṛṇabindur yayātiś ca śaryātiḥ śantanur gayaḥ /
bhagīrathaḥ kuvalayāśvaḥ kakutstho naiṣadho nṛgaḥ //

Tṛṇabindu, Yayāti, Śaryāti, Śantanu, Gaya,
Bhagīratha, Kuvalayāśva, Kakutstha, the king of Niṣadha, Nṛga,

12.3.11

hiraṇyakaśipur vṛtro rāvaṇo loka-rāvaṇaḥ /
namuciḥ śambaro bhaumo hiraṇyākṣo 'tha tārakaḥ //

Hiraṇyakaśipu, Vṛtra, Rāvaṇa who caused the worlds to weep,
Namuci, Śambara, Bhauma, Hiraṇyākṣa, and Tāraka,

11. & 12. Namuchi, Sambara, Bhauma, Hiranyaksha, then Taraka and many other Daityas and kings who were great rulers, all possessed of all knowledge, valorous, conquerors of all and invincible.

12.3.12

anye ca bahavo daityā rājāno ye maheśvarāḥ /
sarve sarva-vidaḥ śūrāḥ sarve sarva-jito 'jitāḥ //

and many other Daityas and kings who were great sovereigns—
all of them all-knowing, heroes, all victorious over all, unconquered—

12.3.13

mamatāṃ mayy avartanta kṛtvoccair martya-dharmiṇaḥ /
kathāvaśeṣāḥ kālena hy akṛtārthāḥ kṛtā vibho //

having strongly maintained the sense of 'mine' toward me, subject to mortality as they were,
have been reduced by time to mere tales, their aims unfulfilled, O mighty one.

13. Mortal as they were, they had the greatest attachment to me as being their own: but, O Lord, they are all indeed gone in course of time, only frustrated of their purpose and remaining but names in a story.

12.3.14

kathā imās te kathitā mahīyasāṃ vitāya lokeṣu yaśaḥ pareyuṣām /
vijñāna-vairāgya-vivakṣayā vibho vaco-vibhūtīr na tu pāramārthyam //

These stories of the illustrious who departed after spreading their fame across the worlds
have been narrated to you with the intention of teaching higher knowledge and dispassion, O mighty one,
as embellishments of speech, not as the ultimate reality.

14. These stories have been told thee of those great men (other than the Avataras of the Lord and His great votaries) who had spread their fame and passed away, O king, only for the purpose

of illustrating the knowledge of the futility of worldly things and producing renunciation; and all this is but mere display of words and nothing relating to the highest and real purpose.

12.3.15

yas tūttamaḥ-śloka-guṇānuvādaḥ saṅgīyate 'bhīkṣṇam amaṅgala-ghnaḥ /
tam eva nityaṃ śṛṇuyād abhīkṣṇaṃ kṛṣṇe 'malāṃ bhaktim abhīpsamānaḥ //

The continuous recitation of the virtues of Him of highest renown, however, destroys misfortune;
one who desires pure devotion to Kṛṣṇa should constantly hear that alone at all times.

15. On the other hand whatever is said by way of constantly singing the glorious atributes and great acts of the most glorious Lord and of His votaries is the remedy for all inauspiciousness; that alone a man should incessantly listen to from day to day, if he is eager to attain pure devotion to Sri Krishna.

12.3.16

/0 śrī-rājovāca
kenopāyena bhagavan kaler doṣān kalau janāḥ /
vidhamiṣyanty upacitāṃs tan me brūhi yathā mune //

The King said:
By what means, O Lord, will people in the Kali age blow away
the accumulated faults of Kali? Tell me that, O sage,

16. The king said:— O venerable sage, by what course could people shake off the accumulated evils of Kali in the age of Kali? O sage, be pleased to tell me of that in detail.

12.3.17

yugāni yuga-dharmāṃś ca mānaṃ pralaya-kalpayoḥ /
kālasyeśvara-rūpasya gatiṃ viṣṇor mahātmanaḥ //

as well as the ages, the dharmas of the ages, the measure of dissolution and creation,
and the movement of time, the form of the Lord, the Supreme Self, Viṣṇu.

17. Pray tell me of the yugas (ages), of the courses of duties peculiar to each, of the extent of Pralaya (deluge) and the period of subsistence and, in short, of the ways of the Omniscient Vishnu, who is in the form of Omnipotent Time.

12.3.18

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
kṛte pravartate dharmaś catuṣ-pāt taj-janair dhṛtaḥ /
satyaṃ dayā tapo dānam iti pādā vibhor nṛpa //

Śrī Śuka said:
In the Kṛta age, four-footed dharma flourishes, maintained by the people of that time;
truthfulness, compassion, austerity, and charity are the feet of the Lord [of dharma], O King.

18. Sri Suka said:— In the Kritayuga (golden age) Dharma proceeds on all its four feet as supported by the people of the time and, O king, the four feet of the powerful and perfect Dharma are truthfulness, mercifulness, tapas, (self-discipline and contemplation) and charitable gifts.

12.3.19

santuṣṭāḥ karuṇā maitrāḥ śāntā dāntās titikṣavaḥ /
ātmārāmāḥ sama-dṛśaḥ prāyaśaḥ śramaṇā janāḥ //

Content, compassionate, friendly, calm, self-controlled, patient,
finding joy within, viewing all equally, people are mostly ascetics.

19. Then the people are contented, full of compassion, friendly to all beings, possessed of tranquility and control over their senses and endurance, finding delight in Atman, regarding everything equal and mostly engaged in exercising their own faculties to secure self-control.

12.3.20

tretāyāṃ dharma-pādānāṃ turyāṃśo hīyate śanaiḥ /
adharma-pādair anṛta- hiṃṣāsantoṣa-vigrahaiḥ //

In Tretā, a fourth part of the feet of dharma is gradually diminished
by the feet of adharma—untruth, violence, discontent, and strife.

20. In the Tretayuga a fourth part of each of the four feet of Dharma is gradually disabled respectively by the feet of Adharma, to wit, falsehood, harmfulness, discontent and discord.

12.3.21

tadā kriyā-tapo-niṣṭhā nāti-hiṃsrā na lampaṭāḥ /
trai-vargikās trayī-vṛddhā varṇā brahmottarā nṛpa //

At that time, devoted to ritual actions and austerity, not excessively violent, not lustful,
pursuing the three aims of life, mature in the three Vedas, the castes are led by the Brāhmaṇas, O King.

21. During the age of Treta people are devoted to the performance of Vedic duties and tapas, are not of highly harmful tendencies or addicted to the gratification of the senses; but they are in pursuit of the three purposes of Dharma, Artha, and Kama, strong in Vedic duties; and all the castes of people regard Brahmin to be of the highest order, O king.

12.3.22

tapaḥ-satya-dayā-dāneṣv ardhaṃ hrasvati dvāpare /
hiṃsātuṣṭy-anṛta-dveṣair dharmasyādharma-lakṣaṇaiḥ //

In Dvāpara, austerity, truth, compassion, and charity are reduced by half / through violence, discontent, falsehood, and malice, which are the characteristics of unrighteousness.

22. In the Dvaparayuga tapas, truthfulness, mercifulness charitableness decline by half, the feet of Dharma being affected by those of Adharma, namely harmfulness, discontent, falsehood and hatred.

12.3.23

yaśasvino mahā-śīlāḥ svādhyāyādhyayane ratāḥ /
ādhyāḥ kuṭumbino hṛṣṭā varṇāḥ kṣatra-dvijottarāḥ //

Renowned, of noble character, devoted to the study of the Vedas, / wealthy, living with their families, and joyful are the classes headed by the kṣatriyas and the twice-born.

23. In that age there are men who acquire great fame, perform great sacrifices and other religious works, and devote themselves to the study of the Vedas, who are rich, great house-holders, highly satisfied, keeping to their caste distinctions, Kshatriyas and Brahmins being held as important and leading classes.

12.3.24

kalau tu dharma-pādānāṃ turyāṃśo 'dharma-hetubhiḥ /
edhamānaiḥ kṣīyamāṇo hy ante so 'pi vinaṅkṣyati //

In Kali, however, only one-fourth of the pillars of dharma remains, and that too, diminishing / through the growing causes of unrighteousness, will completely disappear at the end.

24. But in the age of Kali only a fourth of those that support Dharma remains and that too, will decline, day by day, by the force of the growing causes of Adharma, and ultimately disappear altogether.

12.3.25

tasmin lubdhā durācārā nirdayāḥ śuṣka-vairiṇaḥ /
durbhagā bhūri-tarṣāś ca śūdra-dāsottarāḥ prajāḥ //

In that age, people will be greedy, wicked in conduct, merciless, picking quarrels over nothing, / unfortunate, filled with insatiable desires, and predominantly śūdras and slaves.

25. In that age of Kali people become greedy, are given to impious habits, destitute of mercy, are inimical for no cause, impure by birth, and too full of thirst (for worldly things), the most important place being taken by Sudras, fishermen and the like.

12.3.26

sattvaṃ rajas tama iti dṛśyante puruṣe guṇāḥ /
kāla-sañcoditās te vai parivartanta ātmani //

Purity, passion, and darkness—these are the three qualities observed in an individual; / impelled by time, they continually revolve within the mind.

26. Satva, Rajas and Tamas are the qualities that are perceived as characterising man; and impelled by the force of Time, they act and re-act on the mind.

12.3.27

prabhavanti yadā sattve mano-buddhīndriyāṇi ca /
tadā kṛta-yugaṃ vidyāj jñāne tapasi yad ruciḥ //

When purity dominates the mind, the intellect, and the senses, / and when there is delight in knowledge and austerity, one should know that to be the Kṛta age.

27. When the mind, intellect (reason) and the senses and organs are greatly in association with Satva, that time should be regarded as Krita yuga; for that is the time when relish for wisdom and tapas is great.

12.3.28

yadā karmasu kāmyeṣu bhaktir yaśasi dehinām /
tadā tretā rajo-vṛttir iti jānīhi buddhiman //

When embodied beings are devoted to actions driven by desire and to seeking fame, / then, O wise one, know it to be Tretā, in which passion is active.

28. When persons evince great devotion to Dharma, Artha and Kama, understand that to be the Tretayuga; then Rajas is active O intelligent one.

12.3.29

yadā lobhas tv asantoṣo māno dambho 'tha matsaraḥ /
karmaṇāṃ cāpi kāmyānāṃ dvāparaṃ tad rajas-tamaḥ //

When there is greed, discontent, false pride, hypocrisy, envy, / and actions performed for desire, that is Dvāpara, dominated by passion and darkness.

29. When greed and discontent, and jealousy and delight in doing duties for special ends predominate, that time is to be looked upon as characterised by a mixture of Rajas and Tamas and it is Dvaparayuga.

12.3.30

yadā māyānṛtaṃ tandrā nidrā hiṃsā viṣādanam /
śoka-mohau bhayaṃ dainyaṃ sa kalis tāmasaḥ smṛtaḥ //

When there is deceit, falsehood, sluggishness, excessive sleep, violence, dejection, / grief, delusion, fear, and wretchedness, that is recalled as Kali, dominated by darkness.

30. When fraud, falsehood, laziness, sleep, harmfulness, disappointment, grief, swooning, foolishness, fear and low spirit predominate, that is the time of Kali characterised by Tamas.

12.3.31

tasmāt kṣudra-dṛśo martyāḥ kṣudra-bhāgyā mahāśanāḥ /
kāmino vitta-hīnāś ca svairiṇyaś ca striyo 'satīḥ //

Therefore, mortals will have petty vision, poor fortune, and voracious appetites; / they will be lustful, destitute, and women will be unchaste and wanton.

31. By the force of this Kali mortals become dull-witted, poor

of understanding, unlucky, gluttonous, voluptuous, destitute of wealth; and women, licentious and unchaste.

12.3.32

dasyūtkṛṣṭā janapadā vedāḥ pāṣaṇḍa-dūṣitāḥ /
rājānaś ca prajā-bhakṣāḥ śiśnodara-parā dvijāḥ //

Inhabited lands will be plagued by bandits, the Vedas will be corrupted by heretics, / kings will devour their subjects, and the twice-born will be dedicated only to their genitals and bellies.

32. Countries become infested with robbers; and the Vedas stand condemned by Pakhandas (miscreants); kings prey upon their subjects; and Brahmins are given to the gratification of low desires and appetites.

12.3.33

avratā baṭavo 'śaucā bhikṣavaś ca kuṭumbinaḥ /
tapasvino grāma-vāsā nyāsino 'tyartha-lolupāḥ //

Students will be without vows and impure, householders will turn into beggars, / ascetics will dwell in villages, and renunciants will be exceedingly greedy for wealth.

33. Brahmacharins cease to observe celibacy and piety; ascetics become householders; hermits (Tapasvins) dwell in villages; and Sanyasins (those that have renounced the world) thirst after wealth.

12.3.34

hrasva-kāyā mahāhārā bhūry-apatyā gata-hriyaḥ /
śaśvat kaṭuka-bhāṣiṇyaś caurya-māyoru-sāhasāḥ //

Women will be short in stature, voracious eaters, bearing many children, and shameless; / they will speak harshly at all times and engage in daring acts of theft and deceit.

34. Women are of short stature, eat too much, become prolific and, divested of bashfulness, always speak harsh words and are given to stealing, fraud and cruel adventures.

12.3.35

paṇayiṣyanti vai kṣudrāḥ kirāṭāḥ kūṭa-kāriṇaḥ /
anāpady api maṃsyante vārtāṃ sādhu jugupsitām //

Petty merchants, acting like cheats, will carry on dishonest trade; / even when not in distress, people will consider base livelihoods to be acceptable.

35. Low people conduct business transactions and merchants behave dishonestly even when there is no calamity: people will take to pursuits condemned by the righteous, thinking them to be good.

12.3.36

patiṃ tyakṣyanti nirdravyaṃ bhṛtyā apy akhilottamam /
bhṛtyaṃ vipannaṃ patayaḥ kaulaṃ gāś cāpayasvinīḥ //

Servants will abandon a master who has lost his wealth, even if he is the best of men; / masters will abandon a distressed servant though he has served the family for generations, and abandon cows that no longer give milk.

36. Servants will abandon their penniless masters though they are good in all respects; masters will forsake the servant in difficulty though he be hereditary; so also people will cease to support cows when they cease to yield milk.

12.3.37

pitṛ-bhrātṛ-suhṛj-jñātīn hitvā saurata-sauhṛdāḥ /
nanāndṛ-śyāla-saṃvādā dīnāḥ straiṇāḥ kalau narāḥ //

Abandoning their fathers, brothers, friends, and kin, men will bond only over sexual pleasure; / wretched and henpecked, men in Kali will take counsel only with their sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.

37. In the age of Kali, men become slaves to women, and actuated by ignoble ideas abandon their parents, brothers and sisters, friends and relations, and centre their affection on relations of the woman (contributing to sensual pleasure), guided by the council of sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.

12.3.38

śūdrāḥ pratigrahīṣyanti tapo-veṣopajīvinaḥ /
dharmaṃ vakṣyanty adharma-jñā adhiruhyottamāsanam //

Śūdras, living disguised in the garb of ascetics, will accept religious gifts; / ignorant of dharma, they will mount the exalted seat and discourse on dharma.

38. Sudras, intent upon making their living by putting on the cloak of tapas, will be the recipients of worship and charity; and those that are ignorant of righteousness will take their seat on the highest throne and talk of righteousness (administer justice).

12.3.39

nityaṃ udvigna-manaso durbhikṣa-kara-karśitāḥ /
niranne bhū-tale rājan anāvṛṣṭi-bhayāturāḥ //

Their minds constantly anxious, emaciated by famine and taxation, / on an earth bereft of grain, O King, they will be terrified by fear of drought.

39. People will always be full of anxiety at heart, harassed by the hand of famine and, O king, will always be afflicted with the fear of droughts on the surface of the earth, destitute of food.

12.3.40

vāso-'nna-pāna-śayana- vyavāya-snāna-bhūṣaṇaiḥ /
hīnāḥ piśāca-sandarśā bhaviṣyanti kalau prajāḥ //

Lacking clothing, food, drink, beds, / sexual union, baths, and ornaments, the people in Kali will look like goblins.

40. Destitute of clothing, food and drink, bed and covering, baths and necessary ornaments, people will be in the age of Kali like unto Pisachas (Ghosts).

12.3.41

kalau kākiṇike 'py arthe vigṛhya tyakta-sauhṛdāḥ /
tyakṣyanti ca priyān prāṇān haniṣyanti svakān api //

In Kali, quarreling even over a cowrie shell, having cast aside all affection, / they will abandon their own dear lives and even kill their own kin.

41. During Kali people quarrel even for a pie, setting aside all friendliness and abandon the beloved life and even kill their kith and kin.

12.3.42

na rakṣiṣyanti manujāḥ sthavirau pitarāv api /
putrān bhāryāṃ ca kula-jāṃ kṣudrāḥ śiśnodaraṃ-bharāḥ //

Vile men, intent only on filling their bellies and gratifying their genitals, / will not protect even their aged parents, their children, or their noble wives.

42. Men will not protect even their aged parents and little-minded people bent upon gratifying their own appetites will not care for their own children though they are good in every respect.

12.3.43

kalau na rājan jagatāṃ paraṃ guruṃ tri-loka-nāthānata-pāda-paṅkajam /
prāyeṇa martyā bhagavantam acyutaṃ yakṣyanti pāṣaṇḍa-vibhinna-cetasaḥ //

In Kali, O King, mortals whose intellects are corrupted by heresy / will generally not worship the Lord, Acyuta, the supreme preceptor of the worlds, whose lotus feet are bowed to by the masters of the three realms.

43. During Kali, O king, mortals mostly have their faith undermined by miscreants and do not worship the most glorious Lord Achyuta, the highest Father of the worlds, whose lotus-like feet are worshipped by the rulers of the three worlds.

12.3.44

yan-nāmadheyaṃ mriyamāṇa āturaḥ patan skhalan vā vivaśo gṛṇan pumān /
vimukta-karmārgala uttamāṃ gatiṃ prāpnoti yakṣyanti na taṃ kalau janāḥ //

Whose name a dying person, stricken by disease, falling, or stumbling, chanting even helplessly, / breaks the bar of karma and attains the supreme destination—people in Kali will not worship Him.

44. During Kali people will not worship that Supreme Lord, by unconsciously uttering whose name the dying man, oppressed with care, falling and trembling, will become free from the obstruction of karma and attain to the highest goal.

12.3.45

puṃsāṃ kali-kṛtān doṣān dravya-deśātma-sambhavān /
sarvān harati citta-stho bhagavān puruṣottamaḥ //

The Lord, the Supreme Person, residing within the heart, / removes all the faults of men caused by Kali, arising from material objects, places, and the self.

45. The glorious Lord Purushottama, shining in the mind, removes (destroys) all the evils attaching to men and arising by the force of Kali from (foreign) substances, place, and the body.

12.3.46

śrutaḥ saṅkīrtito dhyātaḥ pūjitaś cādṛto 'pi vā /
nṛṇāṃ dhunoti bhagavān hṛt-stho janmāyutāśubham //

When heard, chanted, meditated upon, worshipped, or even venerated,
the Lord, dwelling in the heart, cleanses the impurity of ten thousand births of men.

46. When listened to or talked about or meditated on or worshipped or regarded with affection, the glorious Lord, present in the heart of men, drives off the sin acquired by them through ten thousand lives.

12.3.47

yathā hemni sthito vahnir durvarṇaṃ hanti dhātu-jam /
evam ātma-gato viṣṇur yoginām aśubhāśayam //

Just as fire present in gold destroys its discoloration born of other metals,
so Viṣṇu, entered into the self, destroys the impure tendencies of yogins.

47. Just as fire applied to gold removes the metallic alloy in it, so also Vishnu, present in the mind of Yogins, destroys the evil resting in it.

12.3.48

vidyā-tapaḥ-prāṇa-nirodha-maitrī- tīrthābhiṣeka-vrata-dāna-japyaiḥ /
nātyanta-śuddhiṃ labhate 'ntarātmā yathā hṛdi-sthe bhagavaty anante //

By learning, austerity, breath control, friendliness, bathing in sacred waters, vows, charity, and mutterings of mantras,
the inner self does not attain absolute purity as it does when the infinite Lord is situated in the heart.

48. The mind within does not get so thoroughly purified by means of learning, penance, control of breaths, love to creatures, ablutions in the sacred waters, observance of vows, charitable gifts, and the silent repetition of holy texts as it does by the contemplation of the glorious Lord Ananta, present in the heart.

12.3.49

tasmāt sarvātmanā rājan hṛdi-sthaṃ kuru keśavam /
mriyamāṇo hy avahitas tato yāsi parāṃ gatim //

Therefore, O king, with all your being place Keśava in your heart;
for dying with full attention [on him], you will go to the supreme state.

49. Therefore, O king, try in every way to fill your mind and heart with the presence of Kesava; if there is serenity of mind at the close of thy life, thou wilt attain to the highest goal.

12.3.50

mriyamāṇair abhidhyeyo bhagavān parameśvaraḥ /
ātma-bhāvaṃ nayaty aṅga sarvātmā sarva-saṃśrayaḥ //

The Lord, the supreme sovereign, should be meditated upon by the dying;
He, the self of all and refuge of all, leads [them] to His own nature, my dear.

50. The Most glorious and Supreme Ruler is to be thoroughly contemplated by those that are about to die; for the Lord who is

Atman of all and support of all, leads them to the state of being Himself.

12.3.51

kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ /
kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṃ vrajet //

Though Kali is an ocean of faults, O king, there is indeed one great virtue:
simply from glorification of Kṛṣṇa, freed from attachment, one reaches the supreme.

51. In Kali, the store-house of all evils, there is, O king, one great virtue, to wit that during this age a mortal becomes free from attachments and attains to the highest, by the simple means of singing the name of Krishna.

12.3.52

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuṃ tretāyāṃ yajato makhaiḥ /
dvāpare paricaryāyāṃ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt //

What is attained in the Kṛta age by meditating on Viṣṇu, in Tretā by sacrificing with rituals,
and in Dvāpara by worship, that is attained in Kali from glorification of Hari.

52. What is attained in Krita yuga by contemplating Vishnu and what by performance of sacrifice in Treta, and what in Dvapara by worship and service, is attained in Kali by uttering the name of Hari.