Bhagavatapurana 2.8: athāṣṭamo'dhyāyaḥ

2.8.1

/0 rājovāca
brahmaṇā codito brahman guṇākhyāne 'guṇasya ca /
yasmai yasmai yathā prāha nārado devadarśanaḥ //

The King said: / Commanded by Brahmā, O sage, to recount the qualities of Him who is beyond qualities, / to whom and in what manner did Nārada of divine vision speak?

1-2. The king said:—O Brahman, when Narada who has the vision and the wisdom of the gods was required by Brahma to tell other people of the excellent qualities of the Supreme Being, destitute of gunas, I wish to know truly, O foremost of those that know the purport of the Vedas, the various persons to whom he (Narada) expounded the truth and what he did and how he did it; for the discourses upon Hari who is of wonderful power are very auspicious for men to hear.

2.8.2

etadveditum icchāmi tattvaṃ tattvavidāṃ vara /
hareradbhutavīryasya kathā lokasumaṅgalāḥ //

This I wish to know in truth, O best among knowers of truth: / the narrations of Hari of wondrous valor, which bring supreme auspiciousness to the world.

2.8.3

kathayasva mahābhāga yathāham akhilātmani /
kṛṣṇe niveśya niḥsaṅgaṃ manastyakṣye kalevaram //

Relate them, O fortunate one, so that I, fixing my unattached / mind on Kṛṣṇa, the Self of all, may cast off this body.

3. O Highly blessed sage, be pleased to discourse upon them so fully that I may settle my mind, freed from attachments, on Krishna who is the Atman of all, and cast off my body.

2.8.4

śṛṇvataḥ śraddhayā nityaṃ gṛṇataśca svaceṣṭitam /
kālena nātidīrgheṇa bhagavān viśate hṛdi //

For one who listens with constant faith and sings of His deeds, / within no great length of time, the Lord enters into the heart.

4. For, the Glorious Lord soon (before long) enters the heart of that man who daily listens with faith to discourses on His deeds and also sings of them.

2.8.5

praviṣṭaḥ karṇarandhreṇa svānāṃ bhāvasaroruham /
dhunoti śamalaṃ kṛṣṇaḥ salilasya yathā śarat //

Entered through the cavity of the ear into the lotus of devotional emotion of His devotees, / Kṛṣṇa washes away impurity, just as autumn clears the water.

5. Krishna enters the lotus of His devotees' heart through the path of the ear, and rids it of all impurity, just as the season called Sarat turns the water clear.

2.8.6

dhautātmā puruṣaḥ kṛṣṇa pādamūlaṃ na muñcati /
muktasarvaparikleśaḥ pānthaḥ svaśaraṇaṃ yathā //

A person whose self is purified does not abandon Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet, / having been freed from all afflictions, just as a traveler does not leave his home.

6. The man whose mind is thus purified, becomes free from all afflictions of Samsara and does not thereafter leave (forget) the feet of Sri Krishna, just as a traveller who has at last (after all his wanderings), returned home, would not leave it.

2.8.7

yadadhātumato brahman dehārambho 'sya dhātubhiḥ /
yadṛcchayā hetunā vā bhavanto jānate yathā //

How the arising of his body made of physical elements occurs, though he has no elements, O sage, / whether by chance or through a cause, as your revered self knows.

7. You truly know how Atman (jiva) has none of the bhutas in his self, and is invested with a body made of the

bhutas, by chance or through any cause, (and so be pleased to tell me of the truth).

2.8.8

āsīdyadudarāt padmaṃ lokasaṃsthānalakṣaṇam /
yāvān ayaṃ vai puruṣa iyattāvayavaiḥ pṛthak /
tāvān asāviti proktaḥ saṃsthāvayavavān iva //

The lotus from whose navel sprang, marked by the configuration of the worlds, / however great this person is with distinct parts of such extent, / so great is He said to be, as if possessing parts like an embodied form.

8. So also Iswara from whose navel sprang the lotus which represents the formation and the arrangements of the world, was described as having the same forms and the same number of members of the body as man, only the measurements being His own and separate; (then) what is the difference between Him and the man of limited nature?

2.8.9

ajaḥ sṛjati bhūtāni bhūtātmā yadanugrahāt /
dadṛśe yena tadrūpaṃ nābhipadmasamudbhavaḥ //

By whose grace the unborn [Brahmā], the soul of created beings, created all beings, / and by whom that form was seen, he who arose from the navel lotus.

9. Through His grace Brahma creates the several beings and is the ruler of his creatures; being born of the lotus of His navel, he saw the propitious form of the Lord through His grace.

2.8.10

sa cāpi yatra puruṣo viśvasthityudbhavāpyayaḥ /
muktvātmamāyāṃ māyeśaḥ śete sarvaguhāśayaḥ //

And in whom that Person, who is the origin, preservation, and dissolution of the universe, / laying aside His own creative power, lies as the master of creative power, abiding in the cave of all hearts.

10. Where does that Person who is the cause of the creation, the preservation and the destruction of the world and who is in the heart of all, rest after throwing off His Maya?

2.8.11

puruṣāvayavairlokāḥ sapālāḥ pūrvakalpitāḥ /
lokairamuṣyāvayavāḥ sapālairiti śuśruma //

The worlds along with their guardians were formerly conceived as limbs of the Person; / and the limbs of that [Person] were conceived by the worlds along with their guardians—thus we have heard.

11. We have been told by you that the worlds with their rulers were first created and that with the worlds and their rulers His members are arranged (formed).

2.8.12

yāvān kalpo vikalpo vā yathā kālo 'numīyate /
bhūtabhavyabhavacchabda āyurmānaṃ ca yat sataḥ //

How great is an aeon or its subsidiary cycle, and how time is inferred; / what is signified by the terms 'past', 'future', and 'present', and what is the lifespan of an existing being;

12. What is the extent of kalpa and that of vikalpa (Avantarakalpa)? How is time known? What is the meaning of the words Bhuta, Bhavya, and Bhavat (Past, future and

present)? What is the length of life in the case of beings endowed with the bodies of men, the Pitris, the gods, etc., O foremost one among the Brahmins?

2.8.13

kālasyānugatiryā tu lakṣyate 'ṇvī bṛhatyapi /
yāvatyaḥ karmagatayo yādṛśīrdvijasattama //

What course of time is perceived, both minute and vast; / and how many and of what nature are the destinations of action, O best among the twice-born;

13. What is the nature of time which is observed to have two aspects, the subtle and the gross (short and long)? How many are the places to be reached by karma and what is their character (or nature)?

2.8.14

yasmin karmasamāvāyo yathā yenopagṛhyate /
guṇānāṃ guṇināṃ caiva pariṇāmam abhīpsatām //

In what the accumulation of karma occurs, and how and by whom it is received / for the gunas and their possessors who desire transformation;

14. In the case of jivas who wish for the modification of the qualities of Satva, Rajas and Tamas, that is, for the attainment of the forms of the gods and others, in what state do the actions both righteous and unrighteous collectively work, by what combination and actions, by what method of performance and by what qualification does one attain to the state of being a god or such other states?

2.8.15

bhūpātālakakubvyoma grahanakṣatrabhūbhṛtām /
saritsamudradvīpānāṃ sambhavaścaitadokasām //

The origin of the earth, the lower realms, the directions, the sky, / the planets, constellations, mountains, rivers, oceans, and islands, and of their inhabitants;

15. What is the origin of the earth, of the nether world, of the eight quarters, of the sky, of planets, of stars, of mountains, rivers, seas, and islands, and of those that inhabit them?

2.8.16

pramāṇam aṇḍakośasya bāhyābhyantarabhedataḥ /
mahatāṃ cānucaritaṃ varṇāśramaviniścayaḥ //

The extent of the cosmic egg, both externally and internally; / the life and conduct of exalted devotees, and the determination of the classes and life-stages;

16. What are the dimensions of the egg of the universe, separately, as they are, within and without? The history of the great souls in them? How to arrive at a correct knowledge regarding Varnas and Asramas?

2.8.17

yugāni yugamānaṃ ca dharmo yaśca yuge yuge /
avatārānucaritaṃ yadāścaryatamaṃ hareḥ //

The ages and the duration of each age, and the dharma of each age; / and the exploits of the incarnations of Hari, which are most wonderful;

17. What is the wonderful history of the Avataras of Hari? What are the yugas? What is the length of a yuga? What is the course of duty peculiar to each yuga?

2.8.18

nṛṇāṃ sādhāraṇo dharmaḥ saviśeṣaśca yādṛśaḥ /
śreṇīnāṃ rājarṣīṇāṃ ca dharmaḥ kṛcchreṣu jīvatām //

The common dharma of men and the specific duties, / and the dharma of guilds, of royal sages, and of people living in distress;

18. What is the common course of duties for men? What is the nature of the special course for men who follow different trades (of different pursuits) and for the great kings that are qualified for governing mankind? What is the course of righteousness to be followed by those that are placed in adverse circumstances?

2.8.19

tattvānāṃ parisaṅkhyānaṃ lakṣaṇaṃ hetulakṣaṇam /
puruṣārādhanavidhiryogasyādhyātmikasya ca //

The enumeration of principles, their characteristics, and their causal factors; / the method of worshipping the Person, and of the spiritual yoga;

19. How many are the Tatvas or ultimate principles? What is their character or nature? How should they be distinguished

with reference to their effects? What is the method of worshipping the Supreme Person? And what is the way to the practice of yoga relating to the mind and body?

2.8.20

yogeśvaraiśvaryagatirliṅgabhaṅgastu yoginām /
vedopavedadharmāṇām itihāsapurāṇayoḥ //

The attainment of mystical powers by the lords of yoga, and the dissolution of the subtle body for yogins; / the duties of the Vedas, secondary Vedas, Itihāsas, and Purāṇas;

20. What is the course or goal which is reached by means of supernatural powers (Siddhis eight in kind) by those who are the lords of yoga, that is, who are thoroughly accomplished in the yoga practices? How is the destruction of the linga-sareera brought about in the case of yogins? What is the nature of the Vedas (Rik, Sama and Atharvan), of the subsidiary Vedas such as Ayurveda, of the Dharma Sastras and of Itihasas and Puranas?

2.8.21

samplavaḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ vikramaḥ pratisaṅkramaḥ /
iṣṭāpūrtasya kāmyānāṃ trivargasya ca yo vidhiḥ //

The inundation of all beings, their projection, and their dissolution; / the rules regarding sacrificial rites, charitable works, desired pursuits, and the threefold aim of life;

21. What is the nature of the intermediate deluges, (the creation, the preservation and the destruction of all the created beings)? What is the unobjectionable method of doing charitable works such as sacrificial worship and constructing lakes and tanks and of performing Agnihotra and other duties towards temporary ends, and in short what is the method of working for Dharma, Artha and Kama?

2.8.22

yo vānuśāyināṃ sargaḥ pāṣaṇḍasya ca sambhavaḥ /
ātmano bandhamokṣau ca vyavasthānaṃ svarūpataḥ //

And the creation of souls burdened with latent impressions, the emergence of heresy, / the bondage and liberation of the self, and its abiding in its essential nature;

22. What is the nature of (the course of) the creation of the jivas whose conditions (Upadhis) are suppressed (who abide only in the Linga-Sareera)? How does the Pakhanda (heritic or atheist) come into existence? How are the bondage and the liberation of Atman brought about? How does he attain to the state of being restored to his essential nature?

2.8.23

yathātmatantro bhagavān vikrīḍatyātmamāyayā /
visṛjya vā yathā māyām udāste sākṣivadvibhuḥ //

How the self-reliant Lord sports through His own creative power, / or how, having cast off creative power, the all-pervading One sits indifferent like a witness.

23. How does the Supreme Lord who depends upon nothing else sport in association with His own Maya? Or how does the All-pervading Lord leave off Maya and remain indifferent like a mere witness?

2.8.24

sarvam etac ca bhagavan pṛcchato me 'nupūrvaśaḥ /
tattvato 'rhasyudāhartuṃ prapannāya mahāmune //

All this, O venerable one, as I inquire in sequence, / you ought to declare according to the truth to me who have surrendered to you, O great sage.

24. O great and glorious sage, be pleased to explain the truth of all this in regular order to me who enquire of you and have sought you for knowledge.

2.8.25

atra pramāṇaṃ hi bhavān parameṣṭhī yathātmabhūḥ /
apare cānutiṣṭhanti pūrveṣāṃ pūrvajaiḥ kṛtam //

For here your reverence is the authority, just as the self-born Parameṣṭhin; / and others follow what has been established by the ancients through their forebears.

25. Indeed you are an authority in these matters like Brahma, the highest of the gods, who is born of the Paramatman; for all other people in the world only follow what was done by

the oldest of the old (by those who were born before all others, _i.e._, by those who were first created).

2.8.26

na me 'savaḥ parāyanti brahmann anaśanādamī /
pibato ñcyutapīyūṣam tadvākyābdhiviniḥsṛtam //

These life-breaths of mine do not depart from me due to fasting, O sage, / as I drink the nectar of Acyuta emerging from the ocean of your speech.

26. O Brahman, these Pranas (vital airs) in me will not pass away, that is, will not be thrown into confusion though I abstain from all food, while I drink the nectar of the blessed stories of Achyuta; though they may (be soon lost) on account of the rage of the Brahmin (the enraged Brahmin).

2.8.27

/0 sūta uvāca
sa upāmantrito rājñā kathāyām iti satpateḥ /
brahmarāto bhṛśaṃ prīto viṣṇurātena saṃsadi //

Sūta said: / Thus questioned in the assembly by King Viṣṇurāta concerning the narration / of the Lord of the virtuous, Brahmarāta was exceedingly pleased.

27. Thus requested by king Vishnu-rata (Parikshit) to hold discourses upon the great and good Lord in the midst of the assembly, Brahma-rata (the sage Suka) was highly pleased with him.

2.8.28

prāha bhāgavataṃ nāma purāṇaṃ brahmasammitam /
brahmaṇe bhagavatproktaṃ brahmakalpa upāgate //

He proclaimed the Purāṇa called the Bhāgavata, equal to the Veda, / which had been spoken by the Lord to Brahmā when the Brahmakalpa arrived.

28. Sri Suka expounded the famous _Purana_ called the Bhagavata which is equal unto the Vedas and which had been on the approach of _Brahma kalpa_ taught by the Glorious Lord to Brahma.

2.8.29

yadyat parīkṣidṛṣabhaḥ pāṇḍūnām anupṛcchati /
ānupūrvyeṇa tat sarvam ākhyātum upacakrame //

Whatever the bull of the Pāṇḍus, Parīkṣit, inquired about, / he began to recount all that in proper sequence.

29. He began to answer in order all the questions (points) about which (Parikshit), the best of the Pandu race, enquired.