Bhagavatapurana 2.3: atha tṛtīyo'dhyāyaḥ

2.3.1

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
evam etan nigaditaṃ pṛṣṭavān yadbhavān mama /
nṛṇāṃ yan mriyamāṇānāṃ manuṣyeṣu manīṣiṇām //

Śrī Śuka said: / Thus has this been declared, which you asked of me, / concerning that which is [to be done] by dying men among wise mortals.

1. This (course of study, reasoning, etc., regarding Hari) is thus described (in the sastras)—this course about which you asked me, for the sake of those that are thoughtful among men, (especially) of those that are dying (nearing death).

2.3.2

brahmavarcasakāmastu yajeta brahmaṇaḥ patim /
indram indriyakāmastu prajākāmaḥ prajāpatīn //

One who desires Brahmanic splendor should worship the Lord of the Veda; / one who desires powerful senses, Indra; and one who desires offspring, the Prajāpatis;

2. Now, he who seeks after the *Brahma-Varchasa* (glory of Vedic study) should worship Brahmanaspati (the Lord of the Vedas); he who desires to have vigour of organs should worship Indra; he who longs for off-spring should worship the Prajapatis (Daksha, etc).

2.3.3

devīṃ māyāṃ tu śrīkāmastejaskāmo vibhāvasum /
vasukāmo vasūn rudrān vīryakāmo 'tha vīryavān //

one who desires prosperity, the goddess Māyā; one who desires brilliance, Fire; / one who desires wealth, the Vasus; and one who is valiant, desiring valor, the Rudras;

3. He who seeks (good) fortune should worship the goddess Maya (Durga), He who longs for (personal) splendour should worship Agni; he who seeks wealth should worship the Vasus; and he who seeks prowess or majesty should with firmness worship the Rudras.

2.3.4

annādyakāmastvaditiṃ svargakāmo 'diteḥ sutān /
viśvān devān rājyakāmaḥ sādhyān saṃsādhako viśām //

one who desires food and the like, Aditi; one who desires heaven, the sons of Aditi; / one who desires kingship, the Viśvedevas; one who desires to accomplish things, the Sādhyas;

4. He who desires food and other things should worship Aditi; he who desires to go to heaven should worship the sons of

Aditi (the twelve Adityas), he who desires a kingdom should worship the Visve Devas; he who wishes to have his subjects (perfectly under his control) should worship the Saddhyas;

2.3.5

āyuṣkāmo 'śvinau devau puṣṭikāma ilāṃ yajet /
pratiṣṭhākāmaḥ puruṣo rodasī lokamātarau //

one who desires a full life, the two divine Aśvins; one who desires nourishment should worship the Earth; / a man who desires status [should worship] heaven and earth, the mothers of the worlds;

(5) He who desires long life should worship the twin-gods, Aswins; he who desires nutrition (the increase of bodily strength) should worship the goddess Earth (Bhu); he that wishes to be firm in the position (already attained by him) should worship the two mothers of the world, viz., Rodasi (Heaven and Earth).

2.3.6

rūpābhikāmo gandharvān strīkāmo 'psara urvaśīm /
ādhipatyakāmaḥ sarveṣāṃ yajeta parameṣṭhinam //

one who desires beauty, the Gandharvas; one who desires women, the Apsaras Urvaśī; / and one who desires lordship over all should worship the Supreme Lord [Brahmā];

(6) He who seeks (personal) beauty should worship the Gandharvas, he who seeks (lovely) women should worship the Apsaras-Urvasi, he who seeks lordship over all should worship Parameshtin (Brahma).

2.3.7

yajñaṃ yajedyaśaskāmaḥ kośakāmaḥ pracetasam /
vidyākāmastu giriśaṃ dāmpatyārtha umāṃ satīm //

one who desires renown should worship Yajña; one who desires treasure, Varuṇa; / one who desires learning, Giriśa; and for the sake of conjugal harmony, the virtuous Umā;

(7) He who thirsts after celebrity should worship Vishnu under the name of yagna by means of sacrifices, he who thirsts after (rich) treasures should worship Prachetas (Varunas), he who wishes to be a learned man should worship Girisa (the god Siva), he who longs for the blessing of (a happy) married life should worship the chaste Uma (Parvati).

2.3.8

dharmārtha uttamaślokaṃ tantuḥ tanvan pitn yajet /
rakṣākāmaḥ puṇyajanān ojaskāmo marudgaṇān //

for the sake of dharma, He of highest renown; continuing the family line, one should worship the ancestors; / one who desires protection, the Yakṣas; one who desires vigor, the hosts of Maruts;

(8) For the promotion of the spirit of righteousness, one should worship Vishnu (the Lord of excellent fame); he who is desirous of extending his race should worship the Pitris (the gods so-called); he who wishes to provide himself with defence (against harassing troubles) should worship Punyajana (yakshas), and he who desires lasting strength should worship the group of the gods called Maruts.

2.3.9

rājyakāmo manūn devān nirṛtiṃ tvabhicaran yajet /
kāmakāmo yajet somam akāmaḥ puruṣaṃ param //

one who desires a kingdom should worship the Manus; one who practices sorcery, Nirṛti; / one who desires sense pleasures should worship Soma; but one without desires, the Supreme Person.

9. He who seeks sovereignty should worship the divine Manus (Visve'devas); he who seeks the destruction of his enemies should worship Nirruti (the Rakshasa), he who is eager for (a life of) enjoyments should worship Soma (Chandra) (but) he who is intent upon developing renunciation should devote himself to the Perfect Being.

2.3.10

akāmaḥ sarvakāmo vā mokṣakāma udāradhīḥ /
tīvreṇa bhaktiyogena yajeta puruṣaṃ param //

Whether free from desires, full of all desires, / or desiring liberation, one of broad intelligence / should worship the Supreme Person with intense yoga of devotion.

10-11. He who has no desires at all, or he who is impelled by all desires, or he who has the ripe wisdom to seek only salvation, should with intense devotion and piety worship the Perfect

2.3.11

etāvān eva yajatām iha niḥśreyasodayaḥ /
bhagavatyacalo bhāvo yadbhāgavatasaṅgataḥ //

Only this much is the dawn of the highest good in this world for those who worship: / unswerving devotional emotion toward the Lord, which arises from association with Bhāgavatas.

Person (Vishnu). The supreme good (to be) attained by those that worship (Indra, etc.,) in the world here, is only of this (limited) extent, that from association with those that are devoted to Bhagavan arises (in their heart) a firm (unswerving) devotion to the glorious Lord (a firm faith in Him).

2.3.11.p1

jñānaṃ yadāpratinivṛttaguṇormicakram $ ātmaprasāda uta yatra guṇeṣvasaṅgaḥ &

Knowledge by which the churning whirlpool of the guṇas is checked, peace of self, and detachment from the guṇas,

12. Who (is it) that, having (once) enjoyed the bliss of listening to them, and not finding it anywhere else, would not take delight in discourses on Hari, from which springs that knowledge which puts a stop to the rolling breakers of the passions, and then leads to serenity of mind and the extinction of attachment to the objects (of senses); and to a pious and devout life which is regarded as the state of Mukti (in the world) (in which Atman realises Self)?

2.3.12

kaivalyasammatapathastvatha bhaktiyogaḥ % ko nirvṛto harikathāsu ratiṃ na kuryāt //

and the yoga of devotion, the path approved for absolute liberation—who, being at peace, would not take delight in narratives of Hari?

2.3.13

/0 śaunaka uvāca
ityabhivyāhṛtaṃ rājā niśamya bharatarṣabhaḥ /
kim anyat pṛṣṭavān bhūyo vaiyāsakim ṛṣiṃ kavim //

Śaunaka said: / Having heard what was thus spoken, what else did the king, / the bull of the Bharatas, ask further of the sage and poet, the son of Vyāsa?

13. Saunaka said:—After hearing all that was thus explained (to him), what further questions did the king the foremost of the Bharatas, propose to the son of Vyasa, the seer (of Parabrahman) deep in the Vedic lore (full of wisdom)?

2.3.14

etac chuśrūṣatāṃ vidvan sūta no 'rhasi bhāṣitum /
kathā harikathodarkāḥ satāṃ syuḥ sadasi dhruvam //

O wise Sūta, you ought to speak this to us who wish to hear; / for narratives ending in tales of Hari surely arise in an assembly of virtuous devotees.

14. O learned one, be pleased to tell us about this as we are desirous of hearing (and knowing) about it. Surely in that assembly of the wise and righteous there must have been discourses that led to discourses on Hari.

2.3.15

sa vai bhāgavato rājā pāṇḍaveyo mahārathaḥ /
bālakrīḍanakaiḥ krīḍan kṛṣṇakrīḍāṃ ya ādade //

He indeed was a Bhāgavata king, a descendant of the Pāṇḍavas, a great chariot warrior, / who, while playing with children's toys, took up the play of Kṛṣṇa.

15. That great warrior of the Pandava race was a well-known devotee of the Lord (Sri Hari); (for), playing with toys, while ye a child, he made the worship of Sri Krishna one of his plays.

2.3.16

vaiyāsakiśca bhagavān vāsudevaparāyaṇaḥ /
urugāyaguṇodārāḥ satāṃ syurhi samāgame //

And the son of Vyāsa is a venerable sage, devoted solely to Vāsudeva; / indeed, in the assembly of virtuous devotees, narratives noble with the virtues of Him of wide strides surely occur.

16. And the Glorious son of Vyasa (Suka) is exclusively devoted to Vasudeva at all hours of the day; and when the pious and wise meet, surely there must be worthy discourses turning upon the excellent attributes of *Urugaya* (Hari who is the most praised in the unlimited Vedas).

2.3.17

āyurharati vai puṃsām udyann astaṃ ca yann asau /
tasyarte yatkṣaṇo nīta uttamaślokavārtayā //

Indeed, as it rises and sets, this sun takes away the lifespan of men, / except for that moment of one which has been spent in talk of He of highest renown.

17. The sun rising and setting (as he rises and sets day after day) steals (wastes away) the life of man (without any profit to him), save the time that is spent in discoursing upon the *Uttamasloka* (Hari).

2.3.18

taravaḥ kiṃ na jīvanti bhastrāḥ kiṃ na śvasantyuta /
na khādanti na mehanti kiṃ grāme paśavo 'pare //

Do the trees not live? Do the bellows not breathe? / Do the other beasts in the village not eat and urinate?

18. Do not trees live, and do not bellows also breathe? And do not the domestic beasts and other animals live, eat, and enjoy carnal pleasures?

2.3.19

śvaviḍvarāhoṣṭrakharaiḥ saṃstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ /
na yatkarṇapathopeto jātu nāma gadāgrajaḥ //

A human beast is praised by dogs, dung-eating boars, camels, and donkeys, / to whose ear the name of the elder brother of Gada has never come.

19. Those who (in all their life) have not even once heard the name of Gada's elder brother (Krishna), are, it is said, like unto dogs, swine, camels or donkeys.

2.3.20

bile batorukramavikramān ye na śṛṇvataḥ karṇapuṭe narasya /
jihvāsatī dārdurikeva sūta na copagāyatyurugāyagāthāḥ //

Alas, the two ear-holes of a man that do not hear the mighty strides of Him of wide strides are mere snake-holes! / The untruthful tongue, O Sūta, like that of a frog, does not sing aloud the praises of Him of wide renown!

20. The ears (of the man) that does not hear (accounts) of Hari's great deeds are horrible pits; and his tongue is detestable like that of the frog, if it does not sing the praises of _Urugaya_ (Vishnu).

2.3.21

bhāraḥ paraṃ paṭṭakirīṭajuṣṭam apyuttamāṅgaṃ na namen mukundam /
śāvau karau no kurute saparyāṃ harerlasatkāñcanakaṅkaṇau vā //

The head, even adorned with a silk turban and crown, is merely a heavy burden if it does not bow to Mukunda; / the two hands, even with shining golden bracelets, are like those of a corpse if they do not perform worship of Hari.

21. Though furnished (adorned) with a silk turban or a crown, the head that does not bow to Mukunda is only a burden (an unbearable burden to the owner thereof); those hands that are never used in the worship of Hari are the hands of a carcase, although they may be adorned with ornaments of gold.

2.3.22

barhāyite te nayane narāṇāṃ liṅgāni viṣṇorna nirīkṣato ye /
pādau nṛṇāṃ tau drumajanmabhājau kṣetrāṇi nānuvrajato hareryau //

Those eyes of men that do not behold the forms of Viṣṇu are like the eyes on peacock feathers; / those two feet of men that do not walk to the sacred places of Hari are like the roots of trees.

22. Those eyes (of men) that do not devoutly look on the symbols of Vishnu, are the eyes (the eye-like bright spots) on the plumes of the peacock; those feet of men that do not travel to places sacred to Vishnu, are like unto trees (form mere vegetation); [are like unto the roots of a tree].

2.3.23

jīvañ chavo bhāgavatāṅghrireṇuṃ na jātu martyo 'bhilabheta yastu /
śrīviṣṇupadyā manujastulasyāḥ śvasañ chavo yastu na veda gandham //

The mortal who never obtains the dust from the feet of a Bhāgavata is a living corpse; / and the human who does not perceive the scent of the tulasī from the feet of the auspicious Viṣṇu is a corpse that breathes.

23. He who never wears (is bathed in) the dust of the feet of the Lord's devotees, is a dead man even while alive; he who has not known the fragrance of the _tulasi_ on Hari's feet, is a corpse, although he may be breathing.

2.3.24

tadaśmasāraṃ hṛdayaṃ batedaṃ yadgṛhyamāṇairharināmadheyaiḥ /
na vikriyetātha yadā vikāro netre jalaṃ gātraruheṣu harṣaḥ //

Alas, that heart is made of iron stone which, when the names of Hari are being chanted, / does not melt, nor is there modification—tears in the eyes and bristling of hair on the limbs.

24. Verily the hardest granite (steel) is that heart which on the utterance of Hari's names, is not moved (filled) with feelings (of devotion); or which, though influenced, does not manifest the change in tears brimming in the eyes and in the hair standing on end (or when the change in the heart is not borne out by tears in the eyes and the hair standing on end.)

2.3.25

athābhidhehyaṅga mano'nukūlaṃ prabhāṣase bhāgavatapradhānaḥ /
yadāha vaiyāsakirātmavidyā viśārado nṛpatiṃ sādhu pṛṣṭaḥ //

Therefore speak, my friend, that which is pleasing to the mind, for you speak as foremost among Bhāgavatas; / what did the son of Vyāsa, skilled in the science of the self, say to the king when duly questioned?

25. Beloved Suta, you are one of the foremost devotees of the Bhagavan, and what you say is most appealing to our mind and heart. Do you (now) tell (us) what, on being questioned, Vyasa's son, perfect in the knowledge of Atman, said unto the king: