Bhagavatapurana 12.9

12.9.1

* //
/0 sūta uvāca
saṃstuto bhagavān itthaṃ mārkaṇḍeyena dhīmatā /
nārāyaṇo nara-sakhaḥ prīta āha bhṛgūdvaham //

Sūta said: / Thus praised by the wise Mārkaṇḍeya, / the Lord Nārāyaṇa, friend of Nara, was pleased and said to the descendant of Bhṛgu:

1. Suta said:— Thus praised by the highly talented Sage Markandeya, the glorious Lord Narayana, the friend of Nara (Audisesha), was pleased to speak to him of the Bhrigu family thus:—

12.9.2

/0 śrī-bhagavān uvāca
bho bho brahmarṣi-varyo 'si siddha ātma-samādhinā /
mayi bhaktyānapāyinyā tapaḥ-svādhyāya-saṃyamaiḥ //

The Lord said: / O best of sage-brahmins, you have attained perfection through absorption in the self, / through undeviating devotion to Me, and through austerities, study of the Veda, and self-restraints.

2. The glorious Lord said:— O foremost one among Brahmin sages. thou hast secured the perfect attainment, through concentration of Atman (mind) and through unswerving and unfailing devotion to Me and tapas, Vedic study and self-discipline.

12.9.3

vayaṃ te parituṣṭāḥ sma tvad-bṛhad-vrata-caryayā /
varaṃ pratīccha bhadraṃ te vara-do 'smi tvad-īpsitam //

We are well pleased with your practice of great vows. / Choose a boon; may all be well with you! I am the giver of your desired boon.

3. We are highly pleased with thee for thy very austere mode of life. May thou be happy! Receive the boon thou desirest from (me) the Supreme Lord of those that confer boons.

12.9.4

/0 śrī-ṛṣir uvāca
jitaṃ te deva-deveśa prapannārti-harācyuta /
vareṇaitāvatālaṃ no yad bhavān samadṛśyata //

The sage said: / Victory to You, O Lord of the gods of gods, O remover of the distress of the surrendered, O Acyuta! / By this alone is our boon sufficient: that You have become visible.

4. The Sage said:— Most illustrious is Thy Supreme nature, O Ruler of the gods, that removest the greif of those that devoutly resort to Thy feet, O Achyuta; the greatest boon has been conferred (on me) by this that Thou hast been so gracious as to reveal Thyself unto us (unto my vision).

12.9.5

gṛhītvājādayo yasya śrīmat-pādābja-darśanam /
manasā yoga-pakvena sa bhavān me 'kṣi-gocaraḥ //

He, the sight of whose glorious lotus feet / the unborn [Brahmā] and others attain in a mind matured by yoga, / that very You have come within the range of my eyes!

5. (For), Even Brahma and others feel that they are accomplished of their purpose even when they have only in their mind ripe with Yoga (meditation), a vision of Thy glorious lotus-like feet. Thou, that glorious Supreme Lord, hast shown Thyself to My naked eyes .

12.9.6

athāpy ambuja-patrākṣa puṇya-śloka-śikhāmaṇe /
drakṣye māyāṃ yayā lokaḥ sa-pālo veda sad-bhidām //

Even so, O lotus-petal-eyed Lord, O crest-jewel of those whose praise is purifying, / I wish to see the creative power by which the world, together with its guardians, perceives real diversity.

6. However, O Lord of charming eyes like unto lotus petals, the crown jewel to those of hallowed renown, I would like to witness Thy maya (power) by which the world including its protectors experiences Thy differentiation of the thing.

12.9.7

/0 sūta uvāca
itīḍito 'rcitaḥ kāmam ṛṣiṇā bhagavān mune /
tatheti sa smayan prāgād badary-āśramam īśvaraḥ //

Sūta said: / Thus praised and fully worshipped by the sage, O muni, / the Lord, smiling, said 'So be it,' and departed for the hermitage of Badarī.

7. Suta said:— Thus highly sung and worshipped by the sage, the Omnipotent Lord said, “Yes. Thou wilt see” and smiled and retired to the hermitage of Badari.

12.9.8

tam eva cintayann artham ṛṣiḥ svāśrama eva saḥ /
vasann agny-arka-somāmbu- bhū-vāyu-viyad-ātmasu //

Thinking only of that matter, the sage, / dwelling in his own hermitage, in fire, sun, moon, water, / earth, wind, sky, and self,

8. & 9. Thinking of the same event, the sage remained in his own hermitage, and Agni, Surya, Chandra, Water, Earth, Air, the Sky, and self and everywhere and worshipped Him with the things of the mind-stuff; sometimes, he even forgot worshipping, when immersed in the flood of loving devotion.

12.9.9

dhyāyan sarvatra ca hariṃ bhāva-dravyair apūjayat /
kvacit pūjāṃ visasmāra prema-prasara-samplutaḥ //

and meditating upon Hari everywhere, worshipped Him with the articles of devotional feeling; / at times he forgot the worship, overwhelmed by an outpouring of love.

8. & 9. Thinking of the same event, the sage remained in his own hermitage, and Agni, Surya, Chandra, Water, Earth, Air, the Sky, and self and everywhere and worshipped Him with the things of the mind-stuff; sometimes, he even forgot worshipping, when immersed in the flood of loving devotion.

12.9.10

tasyaikadā bhṛgu-śreṣṭha puṣpabhadrā-taṭe muneḥ /
upāsīnasya sandhyāyāṃ brahman vāyur abhūn mahān //

Once, O best of the Bhṛgus, as that sage was seated / on the bank of the Puṣpabhadrā at the twilight juncture, O brahmin, a great wind arose.

10. O foremost one of the Bhrigu race, on a certain day the sage was sitting on the bank of the Pushpabhadra; it was the time of sunset; O Brahmin, a violent wind began to blow.

12.9.11

taṃ caṇḍa-śabdaṃ samudīrayantaṃ balāhakā anv abhavan karālāḥ /
akṣa-sthaviṣṭhā mumucus taḍidbhiḥ svananta uccair abhi varṣa-dhārāḥ //

Dreadful clouds uttering fierce sounds followed it; / roaring loudly with lightnings, they released torrential downpours of rain as thick as axle-trees.

11. Following close upon the violent and hissing blasts, terrific clouds gathered, attended with strokes of lightning and roars of thunder and let fall volleys of rain, as stou tas the wheel of a cart (as stout as an axle tree).

12.9.12

tato vyadṛśyanta catuḥ samudrāḥ samantataḥ kṣmā-talam āgrasantaḥ /
samīra-vegormibhir ugra-nakra- mahā-bhayāvarta-gabhīra-ghoṣāḥ //

Then the four oceans were seen swallowing the surface of the earth on all sides, / with waves propelled by the wind's velocity, and deep roars from terrifying whirlpools full of fierce sea-monsters.

12. Then were seen the four oceans overflowing on all sides and swallowing up the earth and with terrible whirlpools and roars of current and formidable alligators and with waves tossed high by the violent winds.

12.9.12.p1

antar bahiś cādbhir ati-dyubhiḥ kharaiḥ $ śatahradābhir upatāpitaṃ jagat &

Within and without, scorched by intense waters from the sky and fierce / lightnings, the universe,

13. To see the four-fold universe of creatures along with himself, subjected to fear on waters flowing in and out and rising to the skies, by the severe rays of the Sun and strokes of lightning and to see the whole earth flooded with waters, the sage was troubled at heart.

12.9.13

catur-vidhaṃ vīkṣya sahātmanā munir % jalāplutāṃ kṣmāṃ vimanāḥ samatrasat //

seeing the fourfold creation along with himself and the earth submerged in water, the sage, distressed in mind, was terrified.

12.9.14

tasyaivam udvīkṣata ūrmi-bhīṣaṇaḥ prabhañjanāghūrṇita-vār mahārṇavaḥ /
āpūryamāṇo varaṣadbhir ambudaiḥ kṣmām apyadhād dvīpa-varṣādribhiḥ samam //

As he thus watched, the great ocean, terrifying with waves, / its waters churned by hurricane winds and filled by the raining clouds, / covered the earth together with its continents, regions, and mountains.

14. When he was thus looking on (in dismay), the boundless sea terrible with waves and with its waters violently tossed by the tempestuous gales and being filled by the raining clouds, made the

whole earth look as if it were on a level with Dwipas, Varshas and mountains.

12.9.14.p1

sa-kṣmāntarikṣaṃ sa-divaṃ sa-bhā-gaṇaṃ $ trai-lokyam āsīt saha digbhir āplutam &

Along with earth, intermediate space, heaven, constellations, / and the cardinal directions, the three worlds were inundated.

15. Heaven and earth, the celestial regions, hosts of luminaries (planets) with all their occupants, the three worlds with all the directions were under one flood. That great sage alone was left living and he with his matted hair hanging about wandered about like a dunce and a blind man.

12.9.15

sa eka evorvarito mahā-munir % babhrāma vikṣipya jaṭā jaḍāndha-vat //

He alone, the great sage, was left; / he wandered about, disheveling his matted locks, like one inert and blind.

12.9.15.p2

kṣut-tṛṭ-parīto makarais timiṅgilair $ upadruto vīci-nabhasvatāhataḥ &

Overcome by hunger and thirst, harassed by sea-monsters and timiṅgila fish, / battered by waves and wind,

16. Severely pinched with hunger and thirst, assailed by alligators and whales, beaten by gales and waves enveloped in endless darkness, wandering about, he could not make out the directions, or the sky or the earth and was overcome with fatigue.

12.9.15.p3

kṣut-tṛṭ-parīto makarais timiṅgilair $ upadruto vīci-nabhasvatāhataḥ &

Overcome by hunger and thirst, harassed by sea-monsters and timiṅgila fish, / battered by waves and wind,

12.9.16

tamasy apāre patito bhraman diśo % na veda khaṃ gāṃ ca pariśrameṣitaḥ //

fallen into boundless darkness, wandering in all directions, / overcome by exhaustion, he did not know the sky or the earth.

12.9.17

kracin magno mahāvarte taralais tāḍitaḥ kvacit /
yādobhir bhakṣyate kvāpi svayam anyonya-ghātibhiḥ //

Now plunged into a great whirlpool, now struck by surging waves, / at times he was devoured by aquatic creatures that were themselves devouring one another.

17. Now he fell into a great whirlpool, now he was tossed by whimsical waves; somewhere he was being eaten (bitten) by aquatic animals which fought with one another in trying to grasp him.

12.9.18

kvacic chokaṃ kvacin mohaṃ kvacid duḥkhaṃ sukhaṃ bhayam /
kvacin mṛtyum avāpnoti vyādhy-ādibhir utārditaḥ //

At times he found grief, at times delusion, at times misery, happiness, or fear; / at times he met death, or was afflicted by diseases and other pains.

18. Here he remains cast in grief, there he is in a sensless state and somewhere again he experiences pain, pleasure or fear. Somewhere else he is about to lose his life, or, he is afflicted with diseases aud other painful states.

12.9.19

ayutāyata-varṣāṇāṃ sahasrāṇi śatāni ca /
vyatīyur bhramatas tasmin viṣṇu-māyāvṛtātmanaḥ //

Hundreds and thousands of tens of millions of years / passed by as he wandered therein, his mind enveloped by Viṣṇu's creative power.

19. There lapsed away millions upon millions of years as he wandered about enveloped in Sri Vishnu's Maya.

12.9.20

sa kadācid bhramaṃs tasmin pṛthivyāḥ kakudi dvijaḥ /
nyāgrodha-potaṃ dadṛśe phala-pallava-śobhitam //

Once, as he was wandering in that [deluge], upon a knoll of the earth the twice-born sage / beheld a young banyan tree adorned with fruit and blossoms.

20: In his wanderings he once came up to a young banyan tree that grew on an elevated point of the earth, adorned with fruits and tender shoots.

12.9.21

prāg-uttarasyāṃ śākhāyāṃ tasyāpi dadṛśe śiśum /
śayānaṃ parṇa-puṭake grasantaṃ prabhayā tamaḥ //

Upon its northeast bough he also beheld an infant / lying inside a hollow fold of a leaf, swallowing up the darkness with his radiance.

21. On a north-east branch and on a leaf thereof he saw an infant in the lying posture and seeming, by its glorious lustre, to swallow up all darkness.

12.9.22

mahā-marakata-śyāmaṃ śrīmad-vadana-paṅkajam /
kambu-grīvaṃ mahoraskaṃ su-nasaṃ sundara-bhruvam //

He was dark as a great emerald, with a glorious lotus-like face, / a neck like a conch, a broad chest, a handsome nose, and beautiful eyebrows.

22. The child was of dark emerald hue, charming with his lotus-like face, neck like unto Sankha, broad chest, well shaped nose and bewitching eyebrows.

12.9.23

śvāsaijad-alakābhātaṃ kambu-śrī-karṇa-dāḍimam /
vidrumādhara-bhāseṣac- choṇāyita-sudhā-smitam //

He shone with locks of hair stirred by his breath, with ears like pomegranate buds adorned like conches, / and a nectar-like smile made slightly crimson by the luster of his coral lips.

23. The child looked splendid with its ringlets of hair moved to and fro by its own breaths, with red flowers set on the ears which were beautiful like sankhas or conches and with his milk-like bright smiles rendered somewhat rosy with the crimson of his lips like unto coral beads.

12.9.24

padma-garbhāruṇāpāṅgaṃ hṛdya-hāsāvalokanam /
śvāsaijad-vali-saṃvigna- nimna-nābhi-dalodaram //

The corners of his eyes were reddish like the womb of a lotus, his gaze accompanied by an endearing smile, / and the leaf-like belly had a deep navel perturbed by folds moving with his breath.

24. The ends of his eyes were reddish like the interior of the lotus and its smiles and looks captivated one's heart; his tender belly about the deep navel which seemed uneasy with the folds which rose and fell with its breaths.

12.9.25

cārv-aṅgulibhyāṃ pāṇibhyām unnīya caraṇāmbujam /
mukhe nidhāya viprendro dhayantaṃ vīkṣya vismitaḥ //

Lifting up his lotus foot with both hands of lovely fingers / and placing it in his mouth, he was sucking it; seeing him, the best of sages was astonished.

25. The great sage was astonished to see the child that with its hands of charming fingers, took hold of its own lotus-like foot and placed it in its mouth and sucked it.

12.9.26

tad-darśanād vīta-pariśramo mudā protphulla-hṛt-paulma-vilocanāmbujaḥ /
prahṛṣṭa-romādbhuta-bhāva-śaṅkitaḥ praṣṭuṃ puras taṃ prasasāra bālakam //

From the sight of him his exhaustion was dispelled; with joy the lotus of his heart and eyes blossomed fully; / his body hair stood on end, filled with awe at that wondrous state; he stepped forward before the child to question him.

26. At the very sight of the (wonderful) child, the sage got over all his fatigues (felt himself completely refreshed and full of new vigour) and in his joy, the lotus of his heart and eyes blossomed (as it were); his hair stood on end; he was filled with awe to see the wonderful form (nature) and still he proceeded to (approached) the child to make his enquiries of it.

12.9.26.p1

tāvac chiśor vai śvasitena bhārgavaḥ $ so 'ntaḥ śarīraṃ maśako yathāviśat &

Just then, drawn by the breath of the infant, the descendant of Bhṛgu / entered inside his body, like a mosquito.

27. At once by a breath of the child the sage of Bhrigu race was inhaled (withdrawn) into its body, even like a tiny mosquito.

12.9.27

tatrāpy ado nyastam acaṣṭa kṛtsnaśo % yathā purāmuhyad atīva vismitaḥ //

There too he beheld this [entire universe] arranged in full, / just as before, and was thoroughly bewildered and amazed.

28. There he was astonishd to see the sky, the horizon, the hosts of stars and constellations, the mountains and seas, the several Dwipas and varshas and the cardinal points, the gods and their enemies, forests, countries, cities, mining fields, villages, pastoral habitations, hermitages and different Varnas (orders of men) engaged in their respective duties.

12.9.28

khaṃ rodasī bhā-gaṇān adri-sāgarān dvīpān sa-varṣān kakubhaḥ surāsurān /
vanāni deśān saritaḥ purākarān kheṭān vrajān āśrama-varṇa-vṛttayaḥ //

The sky, heaven and earth, constellations of stars, mountains, oceans, islands with their continents, the directions, gods and demons, / forests, lands, rivers, cities, mines, agricultural villages, cowherd settlements, and the duties of the life-stages and social classes;

28. There he was astonishd to see the sky, the horizon, the hosts of stars and constellations, the mountains and seas, the several Dwipas and varshas and the cardinal points, the gods and their enemies, forests, countries, cities, mining fields, villages, pastoral habitations, hermitages and different Varnas (orders of men) engaged in their respective duties.

12.9.29

mahānti bhūtāny atha bhautikāny asau kālaṃ ca nānā-yuga-kalpa-kalpanam /
yat kiñcid anyad vyavahāra-kāraṇaṃ dadarśa viśvaṃ sad ivāvabhāsitam //

the great gross elements, the products of the elements, and time, which fashions the various yugas and kalpas, / and whatever else is a cause of worldly practice—he saw the universe shining forth as if real.

29. Further he observed the (five) great Bhutas and their products, the time with its various divisions as yugas, kalpas, and every thing else that may be known or spoken of—in short, the whole Universe made to shine, as it were, a reality (as revealed to the view in broad daylight).

12.9.30

himālayaṃ puṣpavahāṃ ca tāṃ nadīṃ nijāśramaṃ yatra ṛṣī apaśyata /
viśvaṃ vipaśyañ chvasitāc chiśor vai bahir nirasto nyapatal layābdhau //

Seeing the Himālaya, the river Puṣpavahā, and his own hermitage where he saw the two sages, / while beholding the universe, he was expelled outside by the breath of the infant and fell into the ocean of dissolution.

30. There also he saw the Himalayas, that river Pushpavaha, his own hermitage and the Rishis; while thus witnessing the whole Universe he was by a breath of the child expelled and fell back into the sea of deluge.

12.9.31

tasmin pṛthivyāḥ kakudi prarūḍhaṃ vaṭaṃ ca tat-parṇa-puṭe śayānam /
tokaṃ ca tat-prema-sudhā-smitena nirīkṣito 'pāṅga-nirīkṣaṇena //

He [saw] the banyan tree grown upon that knoll of the earth, and lying within its fold of a leaf / was that child, and he was looked upon by him with a sidelong glance, with a smile of love like nectar.

31. There again he saw the banyan growing on the summit of the earth and the child that was lying on one of its leaves and found himself made the object of side-long glances and the loving nectarlike smiles of the child.

12.9.32

atha taṃ bālakaṃ vīkṣya netrābhyāṃ dhiṣṭhitaṃ hṛdi /
abhyayād ati-saṅkliṣṭaḥ pariṣvaktum adhokṣajam //

Then, having seen that child, who entered through his eyes and took his seat in his heart, / he, deeply distressed, approached to embrace Adhokṣaja.

32. Then seeing the child that, through his eyes, had taken a

firm seat in his heart and in his bewildered state of mind he proceeded to embrace Adhokshaja (the Almighty).

12.9.33

tāvat sa bhagavān sākṣād yogādhīśo guhā-śayaḥ /
antardadha ṛṣeḥ sadyo yathehānīśa-nirmitā //

At that moment, the Lord himself, master of yoga, who dwells in the secret heart, / suddenly vanished from the sage, like an endeavor conceived by an incompetent person.

33. Thus at that moment, the Almighty Lord, the absolute master, in the fullest sense, of yoga, one that dwells in every heart vanished out of the sage's, sight, like a sportful creation of an ungodly person (like a desire of a poor man.)

12.9.34

tam anv atha vaṭo brahman salilaṃ loka-samplavaḥ /
tirodhāyi kṣaṇād asya svāśrame pūrva-vat sthitaḥ //

Following him, O brāhmaṇa, the banyan tree, the water, and the inundation of the world / vanished in an instant; he stood in his own hermitage as before.

34. Following Him, the banyan, the world-encompassing flood of water—all vanished in a moment and the sage found himself in his own hermitage as before.