Bhagavatapurana 12.8: athāṣṭamo'dhyāyaḥ

12.8.1

/0 śrī-śaunaka uvāca
sūta jīva ciraṃ sādho vada no vadatāṃ vara /
tamasy apāre bhramatāṃ nṝṇāṃ tvaṃ pāra-darśanaḥ //

Śrī Śaunaka said:
Live long, O pious Sūta! Speak to us, best of speakers!
To men wandering in boundless darkness, you are the shower of the further shore.

1. Saunaka said:— O Suta, O righteous one, may thou be blessed with a long life! [Be pleased to discourse to us] who are mortals tossed about in endless darkness (Samsara); thou, alone, canst show us the way to cross it over, O foremost one amongst those that can speak on any subject.

12.8.2

āhuś cirāyuṣam ṛṣiṃ mṛkaṇḍu-tanayaṃ janāḥ /
yaḥ kalpānte hy urvarito yena grastam idaṃ jagat //

People say that the sage who is Mṛkaṇḍu's son had a long life,
and that he alone remained at the end of the cosmic age, when this universe was swallowed up.

2. People say that the son of Mrikanda is a sage blessed with long life and he alone was left alive at the time of Pralaya (Deluge) by which this world was swallowed up.

12.8.3

sa vā asmat-kulotpannaḥ kalpe 'smin bhārgavarṣabhaḥ /
naivādhunāpi bhūtānāṃ samplavaḥ ko 'pi jāyate //

He indeed was born in our own lineage, that bull among the Bhārgavas in this cosmic age;
and even until now, no dissolution of all beings has taken place.

3. It is he, an excellent son of Brighu's race born in our fami-

ly; and even to this day no deluge or great destruction of creatures has occurred.

12.8.4

eka evārṇave bhrāmyan dadarśa puruṣaṃ kila /
vaṭa-patra-puṭe tokaṃ śayānaṃ tv ekam adbhutam //

Wandering all alone in the ocean, it is said, he beheld a person,
a wondrous, solitary child lying in the fold of a banyan leaf.

4. He singly wandered about on the sea of deluge and saw, it is said, the wonderful Person (in the form of) a child lying on a banyan leaf.

12.8.5

eṣa naḥ saṃśayo bhūyān sūta kautūhalaṃ yataḥ /
taṃ naś chindhi mahā-yogin purāṇeṣv api sammataḥ //

This is our great doubt, O Sūta, whence our curiosity arises;
sever it for us, O great yogin, who are renowned also in the Purāṇas.

5. This is, O Suta, a matter for grave doubt and of great curiosity for us. Be pleased to remove the doubt, O great Yogin, as thou art admittedly versed in all the Puranas.

12.8.6

/0 sūta uvāca
praśnas tvayā maharṣe 'yaṃ kṛto loka-bhramāpahaḥ /
nārāyaṇa-kathā yatra gītā kali-malāpahā //

Sūta said:
This question has been raised by you, O great sage, which dispels the delusion of the world,
wherein the story of Nārāyaṇa is sung, destroying the impurity of the Kali age.

6. Suta said:— O great sage, the enquiry started by thee is calculated to remove the misapprehension of the world in general; for in answering the question has to be given an account of Sri Narayana, which washes off the impurity brought on by Kali.

12.8.7

prāpta-dvijāti-saṃskāro mārkaṇḍeyaḥ pituḥ kramāt /
chandāṃsy adhītya dharmeṇa tapaḥ-svādhyāya-saṃyutaḥ //

Having duly received the sacraments of the twice-born from his father,
Mārkaṇḍeya studied the Vedic hymns according to dharma, dedicated to asceticism and sacred study.

7. Having at the hands of his father undergone the Upanayana (initiation) ceremony due to the twice-born, Markandeya in due course studied the Vedic hymns in the righteous manner, and came to possess the virtue of Tapas and Vedic knowledge.

12.8.8

bṛhad-vrata-dharaḥ śānto jaṭilo valkalāmbaraḥ /
bibhrat kamaṇḍaluṃ daṇḍam upavītaṃ sa-mekhalam //

Observing the vow of lifelong celibacy, peaceful, with matted hair and bark garments,
carrying a water pot, staff, sacred thread, and girdle,

8. He led the strictest celibate life, was free from all passions, wore matted hair and clothes of bark, the sacred thread and the zone of sacred grass and carried a jar (and a staff) (in his hand).

12.8.9

kṛṣṇājinaṃ sākṣa-sūtraṃ kuśāṃś ca niyamarddhaye /
agny-arka-guru-viprātmasv arcayan sandhyayor harim //

a black-antelope skin, rosary, and kuśa grass for the prosperity of his discipline,
he worshiped Hari at the twilight junctures in fire, sun, guru, brahmins, and the self.

9. For the enhancement of righteousness, he wore deer-skin, a string of beads and sacred grass, and both in the morning and evening, devoutly worshipped Hari present in Agni, Surya, his preceptor, the wise brahmins and in his own self.

12.8.10

sāyaṃ prātaḥ sa gurave bhaikṣyam āhṛtya vāg-yataḥ /
bubhuje gurv-anujñātaḥ sakṛn no ced upoṣitaḥ //

Having collected alms morning and evening, controlling his speech, he offered them to his guru,
and ate only once when permitted by his guru; otherwise, he fasted.

10. Both morning and evening he brought the food got as alms, silently offered it to his preceptor and with his permission ate of it; if not permitted, at times he fasted.

12.8.11

evaṃ tapaḥ-svādhyāya-paro varṣāṇām ayutāyutam /
ārādhayan hṛṣīkeśaṃ jigye mṛtyuṃ su-durjayam //

Thus devoted to asceticism and sacred study for hundreds of millions of years,
worshiping Hṛṣīkeśa, he conquered death, which is exceedingly difficult to overcome.

11. Thus bent on Tapas and Vedic study, he spent a million years, and, worshipping Hari, he conquered death which is very very difficult to do.

12.8.12

brahmā bhṛgur bhavo dakṣo brahma-putrāś ca ye 'pare /
nṛ-deva-pitṛ-bhūtāni tenāsann ati-vismitāḥ //

Brahmā, Bhṛgu, Bhava, Dakṣa, and the other sons of Brahmā,
as well as humans, gods, ancestors, and living beings, were exceedingly astonished by him.

12. At this were very astonished Brahma, Bhrigu, Siva, Daksha, and other sons of Brahma; as also men, the gods, Pitris and other great Bhutas (spirits).

12.8.13

itthaṃ bṛhad-vrata-dharas tapaḥ-svādhyāya-saṃyamaiḥ /
dadhyāv adhokṣajaṃ yogī dhvasta-kleśāntarātmanā //

Thus observing the vow of lifelong celibacy through asceticism, sacred study, and self-restraints,
the yogin meditated upon Adhokṣaja with his inner self freed from afflictions.

13. Thus he kept the great vow of celibacy, practised Yoga, Tapas and self-control, studied the Vedas and contemplated

Adhokshaja, with his mind drawn inwards away from the distracting passions.

12.8.14

tasyaivaṃ yuñjataś cittaṃ mahā-yogena yoginaḥ /
vyatīyāya mahān kālo manvantara-ṣaḍ-ātmakaḥ //

As he thus fixed his mind through great yoga, that yogin's
time passed away—a vast period consisting of six Manvantaras.

14. As the Yogin thus continued to concentrate his mind in great Yoga (by way of Jnana-yoga), a very long period of time covering six Manvantaras passed away.

12.8.15

etat purandaro jñātvā saptame 'smin kilāntare /
tapo-viśaṅkito brahmann ārebhe tad-vighātanam //

Having learned this in this seventh Manvantara, Purandara,
fearing his asceticism, O brahmin, set about causing its disruption.

15. In the seventh Manvantara Indra noticed this (him), it is said, and, suspecting fear from his Tapas, O brahmin, began to interrupt it.

12.8.16

gandharvāpsarasaḥ kāmaṃ vasanta-malayānilau /
munaye preṣayām āsa rajas-toka-madau tathā //

He dispatched to the sage the Gandharvas, Apsarases, Kāma,
springtime, the breeze from the Malaya mountains, along with passion, greed, and intoxication.

16. For this purpose he sent to the sage Gandharvas, Apsaras women, Manmatha, Vasanta (Spring tide), the Malayanila (the breezes of the Malaya ranges) and also the child of Rajas (Desire) Mada (blithesomeness, pride or intoxication).

12.8.17

te vai tad-āśramaṃ jagmur himādreḥ pārśva uttare /
puṣpabhadrā nadī yatra citrākhyā ca śilā vibho //

They went indeed to his hermitage on the northern slope of the Himālaya,
where flows the river Puṣpabhadrā and sits the rock called Citrā, O lord.

17. All these readily repaired to the (his) hermitage on the northern slopes of the Himalayas, where, O Lord, the river Pushpabhadra flows and the great rock known as Chitra stands.

12.8.18

tad-āśrama-padaṃ puṇyaṃ puṇya-druma-latāñcitam /
puṇya-dvija-kulākīṛnaṃ puṇyāmala-jalāśayam //

That holy hermitage site was adorned with sacred trees and creepers,
crowded with flocks of sacred birds, and possessed of pure, clear bodies of water.

18. The hallowed tract of the hermitage was adorned with sacred trees and creepers, and largely resorted to by the holy sages; and it was delightful with sacred pools of crystal water.

12.8.19

matta-bhramara-saṅgītaṃ matta-kokila-kūjitam /
matta-barhi-naṭāṭopaṃ matta-dvija-kulākulam //

It was filled with the music of intoxicated bees, the cooing of impassioned cuckoos,
the theatrical display of proud peacocks, and the commotion of ecstatic birds.

19. It was resonant with the music of blithesome bees, with the notes of joyous cuckoos, with the stir of peacocks dancing in ecstasy, and full of the flights of various birds in delight.

12.8.20

vāyuḥ praviṣṭa ādāya hima-nirjhara-śīkarān /
sumanobhiḥ pariṣvakto vavāv uttambhayan smaram //

The wind entered, carrying droplets from the icy cascades,
and embraced by fragrant flowers, blew gently, awakening Kāma.

20. (The Malaya) Vayu who entered it bearing the cool spray of the mountain rills and having embraced the Sumanasas (flowers), gently played on the hermitage so as to exhilarate (his master) Manmatha.

12.8.21

udyac-candra-niśā-vaktraḥ pravāla-stabakālibhiḥ /
gopa-druma-latā-jālais tatrāsīt kusumākaraḥ //

With the face of night lit by the rising moon, through rows of fresh sprouts and clusters of buds,
and multitudes of sheltering trees and creepers, spring blossomed there.

21. There Vasanta (also) manifested himself, the evenings charming with the rising Moon, rows of blossoms in clusters and (groves of) trees and creepers in close embrace.

12.8.22

anvīyamāno gandharvair gīta-vāditra-yūthakaiḥ /
adṛśyatātta-cāpeṣuḥ svaḥ-strī-yūtha-patiḥ smaraḥ //

Followed by Gandharvas with troupes of song and musical instruments,
Kāma, bow and arrow in hand, the lord of the heavenly maidens' host, appeared.

22. Manmatha appeared waited upon also, by companies of Gandharvas who sang and played on their musical instruments; and was seen with his bow and arrows and his troop of celestial damsels.

12.8.23

hutvāgniṃ samupāsīnaṃ dadṛśuḥ śakra-kiṅkarāḥ /
mīlitākṣaṃ durādharṣaṃ mūrtimantam ivānalam //

Śakra's servants beheld him seated after offering oblations to the fire,
his eyes closed, unassailable, like fire personified.

23. These servants (emissaries) of Indra saw the sage who was, after worshipping the sacred fire (Agni), sitting up with his eyes contemplated Adhokshaja.

shut and unapproachable like Fire in the human form.

12.8.24

nanṛtus tasya purataḥ striyo 'tho gāyakā jaguḥ /
mṛdaṅga-vīṇā-paṇavair vādyaṃ cakrur mano-ramam //

Women danced before him, and singers sang;
with mṛdaṅgas, vīṇās, and paṇavas, they made delightful music.

24. Then in front of him the damsels danced and musicians sang and charmingly played on Mridanga (tabor), Veena (lute), and Panava (a small drum).

12.8.25

sandadhe 'straṃ sva-dhanuṣi kāmaḥ pañca-mukhaṃ tadā /
madhur mano rajas-toka indra-bhṛtyā vyakampayan //

Then Kāma fitted the five-pronged arrow onto his bow,
and spring, greed, and intoxication, Indra's servants, tried to agitate his mind.

25. Just then Manmatha set in his bow the five-faced arrow and Vasanta, the beloved son of Rajas (i. e. desire or intoxication) and other servants of Indra agitated his mind.

12.8.26

krīḍantyāḥ puñjikasthalyāḥ kandukaiḥ stana-gauravāt /
bhṛśam udvigna-madhyāyāḥ keśa-visraṃsita-srajaḥ //

As Puñjikasthalī was playing with balls, her waist was deeply weighed down
by the heavy burden of her breasts, and the garlands fell loose from her hair.

26. & 27. As the celestial damsel Punjikasthali was sporting with balls, her slender waist became unstable under the weight of her full breast, and wreaths of flowers fell from her braid; her eyes she was moving his way and that, as she was running after the balls, and Vayu blew away her light garment, her waist-band being sundered.

12.8.27

itas tato bhramad-dṛṣṭeś calantyā anu kandukam /
vāyur jahāra tad-vāsaḥ sūkṣmaṃ truṭita-mekhalam //

As her gaze wandered here and there while running after the ball,
the wind blew away her fine garment, whose girdle was broken.

12.8.28

visasarja tadā bāṇaṃ matvā taṃ sva-jitaṃ smaraḥ /
sarvaṃ tatrābhavan mogham anīśasya yathodyamaḥ //

Thinking him conquered, Kāma then released his arrow;
yet all of it proved futile there, like the endeavor of an incompetent man.

28. At that moment, Manmatha darted his shaft, confident of subduing him (the sage); (but) there, like the endeavours of an unlucky man, all that (effort) proved futile.

12.8.29

ta ittham apakurvanto munes tat-tejasā mune /
dahyamānā nivavṛtuḥ prabodhyāhim ivārbhakāḥ //

Causing harm in this way to the sage, they, O sage, scorched
by his brilliance, retreated, like children who have awakened a serpent.

29. Thus operating against the sage, they were, O sage, scorched by his glory and had to run away like children that rouse (meddle with) a serpent.

12.8.30

itīndrānucarair brahman dharṣito 'pi mahā-muniḥ /
yan nāgād ahamo bhāvaṃ na tac citraṃ mahatsu hi //

That the great sage, though thus assaulted by Indra's followers, O brahmin,
did not fall into the state of egoism, is indeed no wonder among the exalted.

30. O sage, though he was thus assailed by the functionaries of Indra, the great sage did not allow Ahankara to get the upper of him; certainly this is no wonder in the case of mahatmans.

12.8.31

dṛṣṭvā nistejasaṃ kāmaṃ sa-gaṇaṃ bhagavān svarāṭ /
śrutvānubhāvaṃ brahmarṣer vismayaṃ samagāt param //

Seeing Kāma bereft of power along with his host, and hearing of the power
of the divine sage, the lord who rules heaven fell into supreme wonder.

31. The glorious lord of Svarga observed Manmatha and his troop entirely cheerless and was astounded to hear of the glorious virtue of the Brahmin sage.

12.8.32

tasyaivaṃ yuñjataś cittaṃ tapaḥ-svādhyāya-saṃyamaiḥ /
anugrahāyāvirāsīn nara-nārāyaṇo hariḥ //

As his mind was thus engaged in asceticism, sacred study, and self-restraints,
Hari appeared in the form of Nara and Nārāyaṇa to bestow grace.

32. When he (the sage) was thus absolutely devoting his mind (to Him) by means of Tapas, study of the Vedas and self-control, Sri Hari in the forms of Nara and Narayana revealed Himself unto him to bestow His grace on him.

12.8.32.p1

tau śukla-kṛṣṇau nava-kañja-locanau $ catur-bhujau raurava-valkalāmbarau &

The two were white and dark, with eyes like fresh lotus petals, four-armed, wearing garments of black deer-skin and bark,

33. & 34 They (Nara and Narayana) were (respectively) of white and blue complexions, beautiful with eyes like unto fresh-blown lotuses, and with their four arms; they were clad in dear-skin (bark), held sacred grass in their hands; wore the sacred thread of triple fibres; carried with them a pitcher (Kamandalu) and a bamboo staff; a fan (to drive away insects like mosquitoes) and a string of beads (lotus-seeds); they were of high stature and by their golden hue like the flashing streaks of lightning, were in two forms nothing but Tapas itself, and worshipped by the great gods.

12.8.33

pavitra-pāṇī upavītakaṃ tri-vṛt % kamaṇḍaluṃ daṇḍam ṛjuṃ ca vaiṇavam //

their hands holding sacred darbha grass, with the threefold sacred thread, a water pot, and a straight staff of bamboo,

12.8.33.p2

padmākṣa-mālām uta jantu-mārjanaṃ $ vedaṃ ca sākṣāt tapa eva rūpiṇau &

a rosary of lotus seeds, a whisk to protect living creatures, and the Veda—the two looking like austerity itself personified,

12.8.33.p3

padmākṣa-mālām uta jantu-mārjanaṃ $ vedaṃ ca sākṣāt tapa eva rūpiṇau &

a rosary of lotus seeds, a whisk to protect living creatures, and the Veda—the two looking like austerity itself personified,

12.8.34

tapat-taḍid-varṇa-piśaṅga-rociṣā % prāṃśū dadhānau vibudharṣabhārcitau //

tall, radiating a yellowish light with the brilliance of blazing lightning, and worshiped by the foremost of the gods.

12.8.35

te vai bhagavato rūpe nara-nārāyaṇāv ṛṣī /
dṛṣṭvotthāyādareṇoccair nanāmāṅgena daṇḍa-vat //

Beholding those two forms of the Lord, the sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa,
he stood up with deep reverence and bowed down with his whole body like a staff.

35. Those two are the forms of the Almighty Lord who has appeared as two sages, Nara and Narayana; on seeing them, he rose and with high regard bowed to them, falling prostrate like a staff.

12.8.36

sa tat-sandarśanānanda- nirvṛtātmendriyāśayaḥ /
hṛṣṭa-romāśru-pūrṇākṣo na sehe tāv udīkṣitum //

His self, senses, and mind saturated with the bliss of beholding Them,
with hair standing on end and eyes filled with tears, he could not bear to gaze directly at Them.

36. His body, senses, and heart got tranquil from the joy at Their blissful sight; his hair standing on end and eyes full of tears, just for a while unable he was to open his eyes and look up.

12.8.37

utthāya prāñjaliḥ prahva autsukyād āśliṣann iva /
namo nama itīśānau babhāśe gadgadākṣaram //

Rising with folded hands, bowed low, as if embracing Them in his eagerness,
he addressed the two Lords with faltering words, saying, “Obeisance, obeisance!”

37. With his palms folded up he rose, stood bowing and in his eagerness to welcome Them, looked as if he were going to embrace Them and in faltering accents he addressed the Almighty Lord (in two forms) 'Namo-Namah' (I bow, I bow).

12.8.38

tayor āsanam ādāya pādayor avanijya ca /
arhaṇenānulepena dhūpa-mālyair apūjayat //

Offering Them seats and washing Their feet,
he worshiped Them with respectful reception, sandal paste, incense, and flower garlands.

38. He offered them seats, washed their feet, and worshipped them with offerings (Arghya), pigments, burning incense, and with wreaths of flowers.

12.8.39

sukham āsanam āsīnau prasādābhimukhau munī /
punar ānamya pādābhyāṃ gariṣṭhāv idam abravīt //

To the two most venerable sages comfortably seated on Their seats,
their faces inclined toward grace, he bowed down once more at Their feet and spoke as follows:

39. When they had comfortably taken their seat and appeared to be highly pleased with him, he again bowed at the feet of these most worshipful sages and said as follows:—

12.8.40

/0 śrī-mārkaṇḍeya uvāca
kiṃ varṇaye tava vibho yad-udīrito 'suḥ $ saṃspandate tam anu vāṅ-mana-indriyāṇi &
kiṃ varṇaye tava vibho yad-udīrito 'suḥ $ saṃspandate tam anu vāṅ-mana-indriyāṇi &
spandanti vai tanu-bhṛtām aja-śarvayoś ca % svasyāpy athāpi bhajatām asi bhāva-bandhuḥ //

Śrī Mārkaṇḍeya said:
How can I describe You, O all-pervading Lord, impelled by whom the breath of life
stirs, and along with it speech, mind, and the senses stir among embodied beings,
and even in Aja and Śarva, as well as in myself? Yet You are a friend full of love to those who worship You!

40. Markandeya said:— O Lord, what power have I to praise Thee? For, propelled indeed by Thee, Prana (the Vital Breath) acts, and after him, the organ of speech, the mind and other senses of the creatures do their function; nay, those of Brahma and Siva, as well as myself, and Thou art the kith and kin of those that worship and contemplate Thee.

12.8.41

* //
mūrtī ime bhagavato bhagavaṃs tri-lokyāḥ $ kṣemāya tāpa-viramāya ca mṛtyu-jityai &
mūrtī ime bhagavato bhagavaṃs tri-lokyāḥ $ kṣemāya tāpa-viramāya ca mṛtyu-jityai &
nānā bibharṣy avitum anya-tanūr yathedaṃ % sṛṣṭvā punar grasasi sarvam ivorṇanābhiḥ //

O Lord, these two forms of the Lord are for the welfare of the three worlds, / for the cessation of distress, and for the conquest of death. / You assume various other bodies to protect [this universe], / just as a spider, having created all this, swallows it again.

41. O Omnipotent Lord, of Thy omnipotent self these two are the forms which Thou assumest for the well-being, for removing the sufferings, for subduing Death (the salvation), of the three worlds, just as Thou hast assumed several other forms (Matsya, Kurma, etc.,) in order to protect this universe which like the spider Thou createst and again completely swallowest (like webs).

12.8.42

* //
tasyāvituḥ sthira-careśitur aṅghri-mūlaṃ $ yat-sthaṃ na karma-guṇa-kāla-rajaḥ spṛśanti &
tasyāvituḥ sthira-careśitur aṅghri-mūlaṃ $ yat-sthaṃ na karma-guṇa-kāla-rajaḥ spṛśanti &
yad vai stuvanti ninamanti yajanty abhīkṣṇaṃ % dhyāyanti veda-hṛdayā munayas tad-āptyai //

The soles of the feet of that Protector, the master of the moving and unmoving, / where stationed, the dust of karma, the guṇas, and time do not touch— / sages whose hearts are the Vedas constantly praise, bow to, sacrifice to, / and meditate upon them for the attainment of that goal.

42. Of that Protector and Ruler of all the mobile and

immobile creatures I resort to and worship the feet, (the person resting on which) the impurities of Karma, Time, Satva and other qualities do not touch, which the sages of true insight into the hidden sense of the Vedas sing, bow to in intense devotion, constantly worship and contemplate in order to attain to them.

12.8.43

* //
nānyaṃ tavāṅghry-upanayād apavarga-mūrteḥ $ kṣemaṃ janasya parito-bhiya īśa vidmaḥ &
nānyaṃ tavāṅghry-upanayād apavarga-mūrteḥ $ kṣemaṃ janasya parito-bhiya īśa vidmaḥ &
brahmā bibhety alam ato dvi-parārdha-dhiṣṇyaḥ % kālasya te kim uta tat-kṛta-bhautikānām //

O Lord, we know of no other safety for a person fearful on all sides / than the approach to Your feet, O embodiment of liberation! / Brahmā, whose abode lasts two parārdhas, is greatly afraid of You as time; / what need to speak of the creatures made by him?

43. O Almighty Ruler, we do not know the means of security for creatures beset with fear everywhere other than resorting to Thy feet, — the feet of Thee that commandest the state of heaven (Moksha); Brahma is immensely filled with fear, therefore Brahma who lives through the two halves of Parardha period is afraid of the time when Thou movest Thy brows; then it goes without saying that creatures produced by Brahma are full of fear.

12.8.44

* //
tad vai bhajāmy ṛta-dhiyas tava pāda-mūlaṃ $ hitvedam ātma-cchadi cātma-guroḥ parasya &
tad vai bhajāmy ṛta-dhiyas tava pāda-mūlaṃ $ hitvedam ātma-cchadi cātma-guroḥ parasya &
dehādy apārtham asad antyam abhijña-mātraṃ % vindeta te tarhi sarva-manīṣitārtham //

Therefore, indeed, I worship the soles of the feet of You whose mind is truth, / having cast aside this covering of the self—the worthless, unreal, perishable body and the like— / and [surrendered to] the supreme master of the self; / by perceiving Him alone one attains all desired goals through You.

44. Having therefore freed myself from (all attachment to) this environment of) a body and the like which obscure self, are devoid of all real value, and in fact unreal and evanescent though at the bottom nothing but Atman, I betake myself to Thy feet, for Thou art the embodiment of real consciousness (Intelligence); Thy thought is always true; Thou art the director of Atman and the Supreme Being; and by worshipping Thee one attains to everything that may be sought after.

12.8.45

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sattvaṃ rajas tama itīśa tavātma-bandho $ māyā-mayāḥ sthiti-layodaya-hetavo 'sya &
sattvaṃ rajas tama itīśa tavātma-bandho $ māyā-mayāḥ sthiti-layodaya-hetavo 'sya &
līlā dhṛtā yad api sattva-mayī praśāntyai % nānye nṛṇāṃ vyasana-moha-bhiyaś ca yābhyām //

Sattva, rajas, and tamas, O Lord, O friend of the self, are made of Your creative power, / the causes of the maintenance, dissolution, and emergence of this [world]; / yet the play consisting of sattva is assumed for tranquility, / not the other two, from which come afflictions, delusion, and fear for human beings.

45. O Almighty Ruler, Friend of Atman, though these products of Maya, viz., Satva, Rajas and Tamas, the causes of the subsistence, destruction and origination of this world are of Thine own creation; and Thou Thyself exhibitest these sportful activities; Thy manifestation through Satva tends to Moksha, but not the other two (as

Brahma or Rudra) by which men may be subject to troubles and anxieties, wrong notions and fears.

12.8.46

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tasmāt taveha bhagavann atha tāvakānāṃ $ śuklāṃ tanuṃ sva-dayitāṃ kuśalā bhajanti &
tasmāt taveha bhagavann atha tāvakānāṃ $ śuklāṃ tanuṃ sva-dayitāṃ kuśalā bhajanti &
yat sātvatāḥ puruṣa-rūpam uśanti sattvaṃ % loko yato 'bhayam utātma-sukhaṃ na cānyat //

Therefore here, O Lord, the wise worship Your pure form, / beloved to Yourself, as well as those of Your devotees; / because the Sātvatas desire sattva as the form of the Supreme Person, / from which people attain fearlessness and the bliss of the self, and not from anything else.

46. Therefore, those that have understood the truth, O Glorious Lord, worship here only Thy pure manifestation (known as Sri Narayana) as well as the pure avatar of Thine amsas as Nara beloved of Thee; for Satvatas (the gods or Bhagavatas) believe that Satva is the true essence of the Perfect Person and that, only through Satva, the region of Vaikuntah, the state of absolute fearlessness, the realisation of one’s blissful nature can be attained to and not through any other.

12.8.47

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tasmai namo bhagavate puruṣāya bhūmne $ viśvāya viśva-gurave para-daivatāya &
tasmai namo bhagavate puruṣāya bhūmne $ viśvāya viśva-gurave para-daivatāya &
nārāyaṇāya ṛṣaye ca narottamāya % haṃsāya saṃyata-gire nigameśvarāya //

Obeisance to that Lord, the Supreme Person, the Infinite, / the Universe, the Teacher of the universe, the Supreme Deity, / to Nārāyaṇa the sage, the Best of men, / the swan-like sage, restrained of speech, the Master of the Vedas!

47. I bow to that most glorious and omnipotent Lord who is Perfect Person, perfect in everything, the universe, the father of the universe, the Supreme Deity, Sri Narayana, the Sage of perfect wisdom, the foremost man, the purest existence, the controller of speech, the ruler that directs the world in the way of the Vedas.

12.8.48

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yaṃ vai na veda vitathākṣa-pathair bhramad-dhīḥ $ santaṃ svakeṣv asuṣu hṛdy api dṛk-patheṣu &
yaṃ vai na veda vitathākṣa-pathair bhramad-dhīḥ $ santaṃ svakeṣv asuṣu hṛdy api dṛk-patheṣu &
tan-māyayāvṛta-matiḥ sa u eva sākṣād % ādyas tavākhila-guror upasādya vedam //

He whom one whose mind wanders through deceptive sense paths does not know, / though He exists within one's own breaths, heart, and paths of sight, / his intellect being covered by Your creative power— / that very person, having directly approached the Veda from You, the primordial Teacher of all, understands.

48. The creature, who is deluded by that Maya of Thine own and whose understanding is bewildered in following the paths of misguiding senses, does not cognise the Lord who is present in his own senses, heart, and in the objects before he has the true understanding of the Vedas; but that very creature is able to know Thee on getting an insight into the Vedas through Thyself, the preceptor of all.

12.8.49

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yad-darśanaṃ nigama ātma-rahaḥ-prakāśaṃ $ muhyanti yatra kavayo 'ja-parā yatantaḥ &
yad-darśanaṃ nigama ātma-rahaḥ-prakāśaṃ $ muhyanti yatra kavayo 'ja-parā yatantaḥ &
taṃ sarva-vāda-viṣaya-pratirūpa-śīlaṃ % vande mahā-puruṣam ātma-nigūḍha-bodham //

Whose revelation is the Veda, which illuminates the secret of the self, / regarding which wise poets, headed by the unborn [Brahmā], are bewildered despite their strivings— / to that Great Person, who corresponds to the object of every philosophical disputation, / whose consciousness is hidden within the self, I offer my bow.

49. I bow to the Great Person (Almighty Lord) whose nature is concealed by the environments of a body and its belongings, who is naturally presenting Himself as the one subject of various

theories, whose vision is secured through the Vedas, which are the only means of securing that light which reveals the secret of Atman and in respect of whom Brahma and other sages stand deluded in spite of their efforts.