Bhagavatapurana 2.10: atha daśamo'dhyāyaḥ

2.10.1

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
atra sargo visargaśca sthānaṃ poṣaṇam ūtayaḥ /
manvantareśānukathā nirodho muktirāśrayaḥ //

Śrī Śuka said: / Here [in this Purāṇa], primary creation, secondary creation, maintenance, nourishment, karmic impulses, / the reigns of the Manus, narrations of the Lord, cosmic dissolution, liberation, and the supreme support [are described].

1. Sri Suka said:—In this Purana the subjects treated of are (1) creation, (2) special creation, (3) duration or continuance, (4) maintenance or preservation, (5) the acts of protection, or the desire for action, (6) the age and history of the Manus, (7) the accounts of the Lord's glories and actions, (8) destruction, (9) Moksha or release, (10) and the support (the asylum to which all beings must resort).

2.10.2

daśamasya viśuddhyarthaṃ navānām iha lakṣaṇam /
varṇayanti mahātmānaḥ śrutenārthena cāñjasā //

To make the tenth perfectly clear, the great-souled ones / describe the characteristics of the nine here directly through Vedic testimony and indirect reasoning.

2. Here great men endowed with wisdom thoroughly describe by direct expression or by way of purport the characteristics of the first nine topics in order to afford a clear and true knowledge of the tenth (or a clear proof of the tenth and its importance).

2.10.3

bhūtamātrendriyadhiyāṃ janma sarga udāhṛtaḥ /
brahmaṇo guṇavaiṣamyādvisargaḥ pauruṣaḥ smṛtaḥ //

The origination of the subtle elements, senses, and intellects is called primary creation; / secondary creation, known as stemming from the Cosmic Person, arises from the imbalance of the guṇas of Brahman.

3. The production of the five bhutas, the objects of sense and the sense organs, the mind (mahat, ahankara and the three gunas) is spoken of as Creation in general. The creation of nature, mobile and immobile, by Virat Purusha is called Visarga or Special Creation.

2.10.4

sthitirvaikuṇṭhavijayaḥ poṣaṇaṃ tadanugrahaḥ /
manvantarāṇi saddharma ūtayaḥ karmavāsanāḥ //

Maintenance is the triumph of Vaikuṇṭha; nourishment is His grace; / the reigns of the Manus denote virtuous dharma; karmic impulses are the latent impressions of action.

4. The supremacy of the Lord Vaikuntha is called sthana or position, duration or continuance, for everything is kept in its proper place; maintenance or preservation is His grace; the account of the age of Manu consists in an account of the righteousness of pious men, and the acts of protection or desire for action consists of the tendencies implanted by karma.

2.10.5

avatārānucaritaṃ hareścāsyānuvartinām /
puṃsām īśakathāḥ proktā nānākhyānopabṛṃhitāḥ //

The accounts of the Lord are declared to be the deeds of the incarnations of Hari / and of the people who follow Him, enriched by diverse narratives.

5. The accounts of Hari's glories comprise the life of Hari in His avataras as well as the lives of His devout followers amplified and illustrated by various stories.

2.10.6

nirodho 'syānuśayanam ātmanaḥ saha śaktibhiḥ /
muktirhitvānyathā rūpaṃ svarūpeṇa vyavasthitiḥ //

Dissolution is the slumber of this soul along with its potencies; / liberation is dwelling in one's own essential nature after abandoning an alien form.

6. Destruction consists in the withdrawal of the Jiva with all his powers and the conditions (besetting him), when Hari is in yoganidra; and to be rid of the unreal form, i.e., to remain in essential nature (as Brahman,) is Moksha or Release.

2.10.7

ābhāsaśca nirodhaśca yato 'styadhyavasīyate /
sa āśrayaḥ paraṃ brahma paramātmeti śabdyate //

That from which manifestation and dissolution are perceived to arise / is the supreme support; it is named the supreme Brahman, the Supreme Self.

7. That from which the manifestation, i.e., creation and destruction are conclusively known to proceed, is the asylum which is called Param-Brahma, Paramatma and so on.

2.10.8

yo 'dhyātmiko 'yaṃ puruṣaḥ so 'sāvevādhidaivikaḥ /
yastatrobhayavicchedaḥ puruṣo hyādhibhautikaḥ //

He who is this subjective person is indeed the presiding divine person; / and the person who separates the two is the objective, physical person.

8. This person who is attached to the organs of seeing, hearing, etc., that is, the Jiva who looks upon the body and the organs as his own and is the subject of experiences, is the same as the Purusha presiding over them as the deity. And that

Purusha in whom a distinction from the aforesaid is to be seen is known as the Purusha presiding over the *Bhutas*.

2.10.9

ekam ekatarābhāve yadā nopalabhāmahe /
tritayaṃ tatra yo veda sa ātmā svāśrayāśrayaḥ //

When we cannot apprehend one in the absence of the other, / he who knows that triad is the Self, the support of His own support.

9. When (since) we do not find the one in the absence of the other, he who knows (recognises) the three (he who is the subject of the notion of the three) is (really) The Atman who depends upon no other and upon whom everything else depends.

2.10.10

puruṣo 'ṇḍaṃ vinirbhidya yadāsau sa vinirgataḥ /
ātmano 'yanam anvicchann apo 'srākṣīc chuciḥ śucīḥ //

When that Person, having broken through the cosmic egg, emerged from it, / seeking a resting place for Himself, pure, He created the pure waters.

10. When the Virat Purusha came out and stood separate from the Brahmanda, He looked for a place for Himself and being pure in Himself created waters pure by nature.

2.10.11

tāsvavātsīt svasṛṣṭāsu sahasraṃ parivatsarān /
tena nārāyaṇo nāma yadāpaḥ puruṣodbhavāḥ //

In those waters created by Himself He dwelt for a thousand solar years; / hence His name is Nārāyaṇa, because the waters arose from the Person.

11. On those waters thus created by Himself He dwelt for a thousand long years; for this reason He became known as Narayana, for the waters are produced from Purusha or Nara; (thus waters are *naras*, and *naras* being the *ayana* or resort, He is called Narayana).

2.10.12

dravyaṃ karma ca kālaśca svabhāvo jīva eva ca /
yadanugrahataḥ santi na santi yadupekṣayā //

Substance, action, time, innate nature, and the individual soul— / it is by His grace that they exist, and by His disregard that they do not.

12. Matter, action or activity, time, nature or special characteristics and the Jiva—all these exist (may be said to exist and become effective) only through His favour or grace, and they cease to be of any value when He is indifferent to them.

2.10.13

eko nānātvam anvicchan yogatalpāt samutthitaḥ /
vīryaṃ hiraṇmayaṃ devo māyayā vyasṛjat tridhā //

Being one and desiring multiplicity, the God arose from His yogic bed / and by His creative power released threefold His golden potency:

13. The one powerful Lord intent upon becoming many, rose from the state of contemplation as from bed; and through

His Maya He brought out His golden energy in three-fold creation, i.e., Adhyatma, Adhidaiva and Adhibhuta.

2.10.14

adhidaivam athādhyātmam adhibhūtam iti prabhuḥ /
athaikaṃ pauruṣaṃ vīryaṃ tridhābhidyata tac chṛṇu //

as the divine, then the subjective, and the objective, the Lord [projected it]. / Now listen to how that single potency of the Person was divided threefold.

14. The one and the same energy of the Purusha was thus differentiated in three ways; listen to me as I explain them.

2.10.15

antaḥ śarīra ākāśāt puruṣasya viceṣṭataḥ /
ojaḥ saho balaṃ jajñe tataḥ prāṇo mahān asuḥ //

From the space inside the body of the Person as He stirred, / vigor, endurance, and strength arose; thence arose the vital breath, the great life force.

15. From Akasa which is within the body of the Purusha in the mood of activity were born, Ojas, the power of the senses, Sahas, the power of the mind, and Bala, bodily strength, and from these (their) subtle power Prana called sutra, and the great Prana of all.

2.10.16

anuprāṇanti yaṃ prāṇāḥ prāṇantaṃ sarvajantuṣu /
apānantam apānanti naradevam ivānugāḥ //

All the vital breaths breathe in accordance with Him as He breathes in all creatures, / and breathe downward when He breathes downward, like attendants following a king.

16. All the pranas (indriyas) in all living beings become active when the chief Prana is active; and they all cease to be active when He ceases to be active, just as the attendants of a king follow him.

2.10.17

prāṇenākṣipatā kṣut tṛḍantarā jāyate vibhoḥ /
pipāsato jakṣataśca prāṅ mukhaṃ nirabhidyata //

Through the surging of the vital breath, hunger and thirst arose within the all-pervading Lord; / as He wished to drink and eat, the mouth broke open first.

17. When Prana threw things into agitation, the Virat-Jiva was overcome with hunger and thirst and was inclined to eat and drink; now the face first stood out (was formed) as a distinct member.

2.10.18

mukhatastālu nirbhinnaṃjihvā tatropajāyate /
tato nānāraso jajñe jihvayā yo 'dhigamyate //

From the mouth the palate broke forth; upon it the tongue was produced; / thence arose the manifold tastes that are perceived by the tongue.

18. From the mouth the palate became a distinct member in it and the tongue also was produced there; thereupon different kinds of taste were produced, which are enjoyed (reached) by the tongue.

2.10.19

vivakṣormukhato bhūmno vahnirvāg vyāhṛtaṃ tayoḥ /
jale caitasya suciraṃ nirodhaḥ samajāyata //

When the Vast One wished to speak, fire and speech burst forth from His mouth; / in the water, for a very long time, their restriction remained.

19. From the mouth of the Perfect Person proceeding to speak were produced Agni, the presiding deity, the organ of speech and speech itself which is under the control of the two (the deity and the organ); and it is said that the Virat-Purusha had for a long time controlled His breath under water (on the waters).

2.10.20

nāsike nirabhidyetāṃ dodhūyati nabhasvati /
tatra vāyurgandhavaho ghrāṇo nasi jighṛkṣataḥ //

The two nostrils broke forth as the wind blew strongly; / there the scent-bearing wind and the sense of smell appeared in the nose as He desired to smell.

20. When the vital breath began to move freely the two nostrils were formed and there in the nose the deity Vayu, the bearer of fragrance, and the sense of smell were produced when the Virat-Purusha thought of smell.

2.10.21

yadātmani nirālokam ātmānaṃ ca didṛkṣataḥ /
nirbhinne hyakṣiṇī tasya jyotiścakṣurguṇagrahaḥ //

When there was darkness within Himself, and He wished to see Himself, / His two eyes broke forth: light, the sense of sight, and the grasping of form.

21. When the Purusha saw that there was no light about Him and thought of seeing His own self and other things, the two eyes were formed as well as Aditya the presiding deity, the sense of seeing and the power (faculty) of perceiving colours.

2.10.22

bodhyamānasya ṛṣibhirātmanastaj jighṛkṣataḥ /
karṇau ca nirabhidyetāṃ diśaḥ śrotraṃ guṇagrahaḥ //

As He was awakened by the sages and wished to perceive that, / His two ears broke forth: the cardinal directions, the sense of hearing, and the grasping of sound.

22. When He was addressed by the Rishis and He wished to perceive what they said to him the two ears were formed as well as the directions (the presiding deity, cardinal points); (also) the organ of hearing and the perception of the quality were produced.

2.10.23

vastuno mṛdukāṭhinya laghugurvoṣṇaśītatām /
jighṛkṣatastvaṅ nirbhinnā tasyāṃ romamahīruhāḥ /
tatra cāntarbahirvātastvacā labdhaguṇo vṛtaḥ //

Wishing to perceive the softness, hardness, / lightness, heaviness, heat, and coldness of things, His skin broke forth, and on it the hairs, like trees on the earth; / and there, inside and out, the wind was enveloped, having obtained its property through the skin.

23. When he thought of perceiving softness, hardness, lightness, heaviness (weight), the hot or cold state of things, the sense of touch called *Tvah* imbedded in the skin, from which hairs (the organs of sense) and trees (the presiding deities) took their origin; and there the vital air *Pranavayu* is on all sides both in and out, having developed the quality of touch by means of the skin.

2.10.24

hastau ruruhatustasya nānākarmacikīrṣayā /
tayostu balavān indra ādānam ubhayāśrayam //

His two hands grew forth from a desire to perform various actions; / in them was Indra the mighty, and grasping, which rests on both.

24. He developed hands (growing on his sides) when He thought of doing different actions; and in the hands the organ of strength originated as well as its presiding deity *viz.*, Indra; and the function of receiving or taking hold of anything depends upon them both.

2.10.25

gatiṃ jigīṣataḥ pādau ruruhāte 'bhikāmikām /
padbhyāṃ yajñaḥ svayaṃ havyaṃ karmabhiḥ kriyate nṛbhiḥ //

His two feet grew forth as He wished to move at will; / through the two feet sacrifice itself and the offering are performed through actions by men.

25. When He thought of manifesting the state of voluntary locomotion the two legs (feet) were formed (became differentiated); and along with the feet Vishnu Himself called *yagna* appeared as the presiding deity; and the materials for sacrificial offerings are procured by means of action, (that is, the organ of physical motion came into existence, and by this organ men are able to move about and collect sacrificial materials.)

2.10.26

nirabhidyata śiśno vai prajānandāmṛtārthinaḥ /
upastha āsīt kāmānāṃ priyaṃ tadubhayāśrayam //

The penis broke forth for Him as He desired offspring, sexual pleasure, and celestial nectar; / the organ of generation became [the seat] of desires, and [sexual] delight rested on both.

26. When He thought of offspring, pleasure and heavenly bliss, *Sisna* (the member of the body in which the generative organ is imbedded) sprang forth (with the presiding deity *Prajapati*); and the pleasure arising from the satisfaction of desires depends upon them both.

2.10.27

utsisṛkṣordhātumalaṃ nirabhidyata vai gudam /
tataḥ pāyustato mitra utsarga ubhayāśrayaḥ //

As He wished to expel the impurities of the bodily elements, the anus broke forth; / thence the organ of excretion, thence Mitra, and evacuation rested on both.

27. When He thought of the means of discharging the impurity of the essential components of the body, the *anus* was

formed with the organ of evacuation in it and the deity Mittra; and on these two depends the function of discharging.

2.10.28

āsisṛpsoḥ puraḥ puryā nābhidvāram apānataḥ /
tatrāpānastato mṛtyuḥ pṛthaktvam ubhayāśrayam //

Wishing to move from body to body by the downward breath, the aperture of the navel [appeared]; / there was the downward breath, thence death, and separation rested on both.

28. When He thought of going from one body to another and of departing (from the body), the navel was formed as a door-way; and there the organ called apana and the presiding deity Mrityu have been appointed to be; and on these two depends the separation or departing from the body.

2.10.29

āditsorannapānānām āsan kukṣyantranāḍayaḥ /
nadyaḥ samudrāśca tayostuṣṭiḥ puṣṭistadāśraye //

As He wished to ingest food and drink, the belly, the intestines, and the arteries arose; / the rivers and the oceans [were their presiding deities], and satisfaction and nourishment rested upon them.

29. When He thought of taking in food and drink, the stomach, entrails, and passages were formed and the presiding deities are respectively Rivers and Seas; the satisfaction and nourishment of the two sets of organs depend upon the organs and the presiding deities.

2.10.30

nididhyāsorātmamāyāṃ hṛdayaṃ nirabhidyata /
tato manaścandra iti saṅkalpaḥ kāma eva ca //

Wishing to meditate upon His own creative power, the heart broke forth; / thence the mind and the Moon, and thence volition and desire.

30. When He began to meditate on the Maya of Atman, the heart was produced and there the mind, the inner organ of sense and the deity Chandra were produced as well as the functions of thinking and desiring.

2.10.31

tvakcarmamāṃsarudhira medomajjāsthidhātavaḥ /
bhūmyaptejomayāḥ sapta prāṇo vyomāmbuvāyubhiḥ //

Skin, hide, flesh, blood, / fat, marrow, and bone are the seven bodily elements composed of earth, water, and fire; the vital breath is composed of space, water, and air.

31. The seven essentials constituting the body known as the seven dhatus namely the fine skin, the tough skin, flesh, blood, fat, marrow and bones, were produced respectively from earth, water, light (fire), prana, akasa or ether, water and the air.

2.10.32

guṇātmakānīndriyāṇi bhūtādiprabhavā guṇāḥ /
manaḥ sarvavikārātmā buddhirvijñānarūpiṇī //

The sense faculties consist of the guṇas; the guṇas originate from the ego; / the mind consists of all modifications; the intellect has the nature of discernment.

32. The organs of sense are ever directed to their objects, sound, touch, form, taste and smell and these objects spring from ahamkara; the mind is the embodiment of all vikaras, i.e., diverse thoughts of worldly things and buddhi consists of the clear understanding of things as they are.

2.10.33

etadbhagavato rūpaṃ sthūlaṃ te vyāhṛtaṃ mayā /
mahyādibhiścāvaraṇairaṣṭabhirbahirāvṛtam //

This gross form of the Lord has been related to you by me, / covered on the outside by the eight coverings beginning with earth.

33. This is the huge and gross form of the glorious supreme being which I have described to you and it has eight outward covers (sheaths) of which earth is the first.

2.10.34

ataḥ paraṃ sūkṣmatamam avyaktaṃ nirviśeṣaṇam /
anādimadhyanidhanaṃ nityaṃ vāṅmanasaḥ param //

Beyond this is the most subtle, unmanifest, devoid of distinguishing attributes, / without beginning, middle, or end, eternal, beyond speech and mind.

34. He has a form distinct from (higher than) the gross form already described; it is very subtle, unmanifest and without characterising attributes; it has no beginning, middle or end (it is not subject to the three states of origin, subsistence and destruction); it is eternally the same unchanging thing; it is beyond the reach of word and thought.

2.10.35

amunī bhagavadrūpe mayā te hyanuvarṇite /
ubhe api na gṛhṇanti māyāsṛṣṭe vipaścitaḥ //

These two forms of the Lord have indeed been described to you by me; / but the wise accept neither of them, as both are produced by creative power.

35. These two forms of the Lord have been described to you, but the wise do not take them both (either of them) to be the true nature of Brahman, since they both are creations of Maya.

2.10.36

sa vācyavācakatayā bhagavān brahmarūpadhṛk /
nāmarūpakriyā dhatte sakarmākarmakaḥ paraḥ //

Assuming the form of Brahman through the expressed word and the expressing word, / the Lord, the Supreme, though free from action, assumes name, form, and action along with karmic activity.

36. Assuming the form of Brahma, the glorious Lord, comes to have names, forms and actions, Himself being both the thing denoted and the word denoting it; He is active and He is inactive also; still He is quite different from both (He is neither).

2.10.37

prajāpatīn manūn devān ṛṣīn pitṛgaṇān pṛthak /
siddhacāraṇagandharvān vidyādhrāsuraguhyakān //

Progenitors of creatures, Manus, gods, sages, the classes of ancestors separately, / Siddhas, Cāraṇas, Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Asuras, and Guhyakas,

37—39. He assumes the forms of Prajapatis, Manus, Devas, Rishis, Pitris, Siddhas, Charanas, Gandharvas, Vidyadharas, Asuras, Yakshas, Kinnaras, Apsaras, Nagas, serpents, Kimpurushas, men, Matris, Rakshasas, Pisachas, Bhutas, the infernal beings, Vinayakas; of the Kushmandas, Unmadas, Vetalas, Yatudhanas, Grahas, birds, antelopes, (and other things as) beasts, trees, mountains and reptiles.

2.10.38

kinnarāpsaraso nāgān sarpān kimpuruṣān narān /
māt rakṣaḥpiśācāṃśca pretabhūtavināyakān //

Kinnaras, Apsarases, Nāgas, serpents, Kimpuruṣas, human beings, / Mātṛs, Rakṣases, Piśācas, Pretas, Bhūtas, and Vināyakas,

2.10.39

kūṣmāṇḍonmādavetālān yātudhānān grahān api /
khagān mṛgān paśūn vṛkṣān girīn nṛpa sarīsṛpān //

Kūṣmāṇḍas, Unmādas, Vetālas, Yātudhānas, and the planets, / birds, wild beasts, domestic animals, trees, mountains, O king, and reptiles,

2.10.40

dvividhāścaturvidhā ye 'nye jalasthalanabhaukasaḥ /
kuśalākuśalā miśrāḥ karmaṇāṃ gatayastvimāḥ //

and the others, dwelling in water, land, and sky, whether of two kinds or four kinds— / these are the auspicious, inauspicious, and mixed destinies of actions.

40. He also brings into existence all the forms which fall into two classes as the mobile and the immobile, or into four as those born out of the egg, the womb, sweat, and seeds (as vegetables); or which fall into three classes as those that have their habitation in water, on the earth or in the sky; and these are the courses or consequences of actions, according as they are good, bad, or are of mixed nature.

2.10.41

sattvaṃ rajastama iti tisraḥ suranṛnārakāḥ /
tatrāpyekaikaśo rājan bhidyante gatayastridhā /
yadaikaikataro 'nyābhyāṃ svabhāva upahanyate //

Sattva, rajas, and tamas are the three [guṇas producing] gods, men, and hellish beings; / even there, O king, each destiny is divided threefold, / whenever one nature is modified by the other two.

41. These courses are three as they depend upon the three qualities of Satva, Rajas and Tamas and are represented by three classes of beings, namely, the celestials, human beings and infernal beings; even of these three, O king, the courses of each may be of three varieties, according as the nature of any one of the qualities is overpowered and changed by the other two.

2.10.42

sa evedaṃ jagaddhātā bhagavān dharmarūpadhṛk /
puṣṇāti sthāpayan viśvaṃ tiryaṅnarasurādibhiḥ //

The Lord Himself, the creator of this world, assuming the form of dharma, / nourishes and maintains the universe by means of beasts, men, gods, and others.

42. The same Lord, the creator of the world, assumes the form of Dharma, nourishes (supports) all this world in order to maintain it with (all its) beasts, men and gods.

2.10.43

tataḥ kālāgnirudrātmā yat sṛṣṭam idam ātmanaḥ /
sanniyacchati tat kāle ghanānīkam ivānilaḥ //

Then, having the nature of the fire of time and of Rudra, that which He created of Himself / He withdraws in due course, as the wind disperses an array of clouds.

43. Then He becomes Rudra, the fire of pralaya and destroys this world that sprang from Himself, just as the wind scatters clouds.

2.10.44

itthambhāvena kathito bhagavān bhagavattamaḥ /
netthambhāvena hi paraṃ draṣṭum arhanti sūrayaḥ //

In this manner the Lord, the most divine, has been described; / yet the wise should not see the Supreme as limited to this manner.

44. The glorious Lord of boundless powers and absolutely blessed nature has been described in this manner (as the creator, protector and so on) ; but it is not fit that the wise should regard Him (think him) to be only of this description.

2.10.45

nāsya karmaṇi janmādau parasyānuvidhīyate /
kartṛtvapratiṣedhārthaṃ māyayāropitaṃ hi tat //

No agency is attributed to the Supreme in His deeds such as birth; / for that agency is superimposition through creative power, to negate [ultimate] doership.

45. Brahman is no agent in respect of activity known as creation, preservation or destruction; and all that description is only a preliminary statement for denying all agentship of Him; for, that is attributed to Him under the force of Maya.

2.10.46

ayaṃ tu brahmaṇaḥ kalpaḥ savikalpa udāhṛtaḥ /
vidhiḥ sādhāraṇo yatra sargāḥ prākṛtavaikṛtāḥ //

This has been declared as the secondary cosmic cycle of Brahmā, / in which the standard order holds, with primary and secondary creations.

46. And this *kalpa* in relation to Brahma with its subdivisions has been described, during which the creations Prakriti of *mahat* and other things known as *prakritas* and the creations known as *vikritas* of immobile nature occur and this is the common rule of creation for all *kalpas*.

2.10.47

parimāṇaṃ ca kālasya kalpalakṣaṇavigraham /
yathā purastādvyākhyāsye pādmaṃ kalpam atho śṛṇu //

The measurement of time, defined by the characteristics of a kalpa, / as I shall explain hereafter; now hear of the Pādma-kalpa.

47. The measure of time in its gross and subtle aspects, the definition of *kalpa* and its divisions, I shall fully explain later on (in the third skandha) ; and now I shall fully describe the *Padma kalpa* ; listen to it.

2.10.48

/0 śaunaka uvāca
yadāha no bhavān sūta kṣattā bhāgavatottamaḥ /
cacāra tīrthāni bhuvastyaktvā bandhūn sudustyajān //

Śaunaka said: / When, as you told us, Sūta, the chamberlain Vidura, highest among the Bhāgavatas, / wandered to the earth's sacred places after abandoning his relatives, whom it is so hard to renounce;

48. Saunaka said :— "O Suta, you told us that Vidura the most devout *bhakta* of the Lord, went to sacred waters and holy places having separated himself from his kinsmen who cannot be so abandoned.

2.10.49

kṣattuḥ kauśāravestasya saṃvādo 'dhyātmasaṃśritaḥ /
yadvā sa bhagavāṃstasmai pṛṣṭastattvam uvāca ha //

The dialogue that the chamberlain had with Kauṣārava concerning the inner self, / or how that Lord, when questioned by him, spoke the truth;

49 and 50. At what place he met *Kausharava* (Maitreya) and heard his discourse upon Atman (on Adhyatma subjects), what philosophical questions that worshipful sage was asked and what he explained to Vidura, please tell us, O gentle one, all about it, and also of all that Vidura did, why he abandoned his relations and why he came back."

2.10.50

brūhi nastadidaṃ saumya vidurasya viceṣṭitam /
bandhutyāganimittaṃ ca yathaivāgatavān punaḥ //

Tell us this, gentle one: of Vidura's deeds, / and the reason for renouncing his kin, and how he returned again.

2.10.51

/0 sūta uvāca
rājñā parīkṣitā pṛṣṭo yadavocan mahāmuniḥ /
tadvo 'bhidhāsye śṛṇuta rāajñaḥ praśnānusārataḥ //

Sūta said: / What the great sage said when questioned by King Parīkṣit, / that I shall declare to you; listen in accordance with the king's inquiry.

51. Suta said :—"What the great sage discoursed upon at the request of king Parikshit, I shall relate in the order of the king's queries ; and you may listen to it."