Bhagavatapurana 3.5: atha pañcamo'dhyāyaḥ

3.5.1

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
dvāri dyu-nadyā ṛṣabhaḥ kurūṇāṃ maitreyam āsīnam agādha-bodham /
kṣattopasṛtyācyuta-bhāva-siddhaḥ papraccha sauśīlya-guṇābhitṛptaḥ //

Śrī Śuka said:
Approaching Maitreya of unfathomable wisdom seated on the bank of the heavenly river,
Vidura, the foremost of the Kurus, perfected in his devotional emotion toward Acyuta and fully satisfied by Maitreya’s virtues and good nature, asked:

1. At Gangadwar, Vidura, the foremost (most worthy) among the Kurus, purified by his devotion to Achyuta, and gratified very much with His goodness and candour, approached Maitreya of boundless wisdom who was seated (there) and said:

3.5.2

/0 vidura uvāca
sukhāya karmāṇi karoti loko na taiḥ sukhaṃ vānyad-upāramaṃ vā /
vindeta bhūyas tata eva duḥkhaṃ yad atra yuktaṃ bhagavān vaden naḥ //

Vidura said:
People perform actions for the sake of happiness; but neither happiness nor the cessation of misery is obtained by them;
rather, suffering alone is experienced again and again through them. Tell us, Lord, what is fitting in this matter.

2. Vidura said:—Men do Karma (prescribed duties) for the sake of happiness, but do not thereby attain happiness or the other thing, *i.e.*, the absence of it (*i.e.* misery); or rather they (are seen to) attain misery again and again; hence may your worship be pleased to tell us what is the proper (course to follow) here (in Samsara.)

3.5.3

janasya kṛṣṇād vimukhasya daivād adharma-śīlasya suduḥkhitasya /
anugrahāyeha caranti nūnaṃ bhūtāni bhavyāni janārdanasya //

For the grace of the person who has turned away from Kṛṣṇa due to destiny,
who is inclined to unrighteousness and is deeply miserable, the auspicious servants of Janārdana surely wander here in this world.

3. Certainly the great and auspicious (benevolent) souls (Great men) devoted to Janardana, go about here (in the world), for the good of men who by destiny (by force of previous Karma) are turned away from Krishna, and hence, becoming unrighteous, are immersed in misery.

3.5.4

tat sādhu-varyādiśa vartma śaṃ naḥ saṃrādhito bhagavān yena puṃsām /
hṛdi sthito yacchati bhakti-pūte jñānaṃ sa-tattvādhigamaṃ purāṇam //

Therefore, best of the virtuous, point out the path of welfare to us, by which the Lord, being worshipped, / situated in the heart purified by devotion, bestows the ancient knowledge accompanied by the comprehension of ultimate truth.

4. Therefore, O foremost one among the pious (wise), point out to us the happy road (course) by which the glorious Lord enthroned in mens' heart sanctified by devotion, and propitiated by them, confers on them the ancient wisdom (proved by the Vedas), as well as the direct realisation of truth (the true nature of Atman.)

3.5.5

karoti karmāṇi kṛtāvatāro yāny ātma-tantro bhagavāṃs tryadhīśaḥ /
yathā sasarjāgra idaṃ nirīhaḥ saṃsthāpya vṛttiṃ jagato vidhatte //

What activities the independent Lord, master of the three [realms], performs having assumed incarnations, / and how in the beginning, desireless, he projected this [universe], established it, and ordained the sustenance of the world;

5 to 9. O best of wise Brahmins, be pleased to explain to us the following:—What (great) deeds the glorious Lord, the absolute Maker, and the ruler of the three gunas of Maya, does in His avatars; how in the beginning, the Lord who has no desire or is devoid of the attribute of activity, created this world, how He gives it a firm existence and provides it with the means of subsistence; how He again withdraws it into the sky of His bosom, and how refraining from all activity He sleeps in the cave (Yogamaya); how the great Lord of the masters of yoga, one as He is, entered into this (world) became many (as Brahma, Rudra and so on); (what He did) by way of His Leelas in His various avatars for the well-being of Brahmanas, cows and gods; for, our mind is never completely satisfied though we frequently hear of the nectar of the deeds of the Lord, who

3.5.6

yathā punaḥ sve kha idaṃ niveśya śete guhāyāṃ sa nivṛtta-vṛttiḥ /
yogeśvarādhīśvara eka etad anupraviṣṭo bahudhā yathāsīt //

and how again, having drawn this into his own ether, he lies asleep within the cave [of the heart], all activity ceased; / and how he, the one sovereign master of the masters of yoga, having entered this, became manifold;

3.5.7

krīḍan vidhatte dvija-go-surāṇāṃ kṣemāya karmāṇy avatāra-bhedaiḥ /
mano na tṛpyaty api śṛṇvatāṃ naḥ suśloka-mauleś caritāmṛtāni //

and [how], in divine play, he performs deeds for the welfare of the twice-born, the cows, and the gods through his various incarnations— / our minds never tire of hearing the immortal deeds of him whose glory is the crown of good fame.

is at the head of all those whose name is most sung for their glory. (Tell me) with what different principles (Tattvas), Sri Narayana, who is self-existent and the maker of the Universe, and the highest ruler of all the worlds, created and arranged the different Lokas (regions) with their protectors, as also the alokas (i.e., regions beyond the mountains called the Lokalokas), wherein are observed to be all classes of beings endowed with different kinds of bodies appointed to do different duties; how He has differentiated men (or beings) according to their natural tendencies and their activity and form and name.

3.5.8

yais tattva-bhedair adhiloka-nātho lokān alokān saha lokapālān /
acīkḷpad yatra hi sarva-sattva- nikāya-bhedo 'dhikṛtaḥ pratītaḥ //

By which diverse principles the Lord of the worlds fashioned the worlds, the non-worlds, along with the world-guardians, / in which indeed the distinction of all orders of living beings is recognized as established;

3.5.9

yena prajānām uta ātma-karma- rūpābhidhānāṃ ca bhidāṃ vyadhatta /
nārāyaṇo viśvasṛg ātma-yonir etac ca no varṇaya vipra-varya //

and whereby Nārāyaṇa, the creator of the universe, self-born, brought about the differentiation of the creatures in their individual nature, actions, forms, and names— / describe this to us, O best of the twice-born!

3.5.10

parāvareṣāṃ bhagavan vratāni śrutāni me vyāsa-mukhād abhīkṣṇam /
atṛpnuma kṣulla-sukhāvahānāṃ teṣām ṛte kṛṣṇa-kathāmṛtaughāt //

O lord, I have repeatedly heard from the mouth of Vyāsa about the religious duties of the higher and lower [classes]; / but I am weary of those which yield only petty pleasures, devoid of the flood of the nectar of Kṛṣṇa's stories.

10. O worshipful one, I have frequently heard from the lips of Vyasa, of the observances (duties) laid down for the higher classes (the twice-born) as well as the lower classes, and I feel satiated (I do not require more of them) with them, since they lead only to paltry pleasures, and not to the nectarine flood of Sri Krishna's stories.

3.5.11

kas tṛpnuyāt tīrtha-pado 'bhidhānāt satreṣu vaḥ sūribhir īḍyamānāt /
yaḥ karṇa-nāḍīṃ puruṣasya yāto bhava-pradāṃ geha-ratiṃ chinatti //

Who could ever have enough of the name of him whose feet are a sacred place, praised by the wise in your sacrificial sessions, / which, entering a man's ear-passages, severs that attachment to home which causes transmigration?

11. Who could be satiated with the relation of Sri Krishna's story (Sri Krishna of hallowed feet) sung by the wise in great assemblies; for, coming within the range of man's ears (when man hears of Him) He severs his attachment to the householder's life which leads to birth and death.

3.5.12

munir vivakṣur bhagavad-guṇānāṃ sakhāpi te bhāratam āha kṛṣṇaḥ /
yasmin nṛṇāṃ grāmya-sukhānuvādair matir gṛhītā nu hareḥ kathāyām //

The sage Kṛṣṇa [Dvaipāyana], your friend, wishing to speak of the Lord's virtues, composed the Mahābhārata, / in which men's minds are drawn toward the narration of Hari by means of descriptions of common worldly pleasures.

12. Also your friend the sage Krishna (Vyasa) has taught (produced) the Mahabharata only for the purpose of describing the excellent attributes of the (glorious) and supreme Lord, for, (even) there, the mind of men is certainly (taken up with) the story (accounts) of Hari, through the repeated descriptions of lower pleasures (objects).

3.5.13

sā śraddadhānasya vivardhamānā viraktim anyatra karoti puṃsaḥ /
hareḥ padānusmṛti-nirvṛtasya samasta-duḥkhāpyayam āśu dhatte //

When it grows in a man endowed with faith, it generates dispassion toward other things; / and for him who is delighted by continuous remembrance of Hari’s feet, it swiftly brings about the cessation of all sorrow.

13. In the man of faith, that disposition of the mind grows stronger and engenders renunciation towards other

objects and it soon puts an end to all the miseries of the man who (begins to) feel happy by the constant contemplation of Sri Hari’s feet.

3.5.14

tāñ chocya-śocyān avido 'nuśoce hareḥ kathāyāṃ vimukhān aghena /
kṣiṇoti devo 'nimiṣas tu yeṣām āyur vṛthā-vāda-gati-smṛtīnām //

I lament those pitiable fools who, because of sin, turn away from the narrative of Hari, / whose lifespan the unblinking Lord [as Time] diminishes while their thoughts, movements, and speech are in vain.

14. I pity those who by force of their sin are ignorant (of the purport of the Bharata) and set their face against the stories of Hari and are therefore fit to be pitied by the pitiable ; and whose lifetime goes to waste in useless talk, activities and fancies.

3.5.15

tad asya kauṣārava śarma-dātur hareḥ kathām eva kathāsu sāram /
uddhṛtya puṣpebhya ivārta-bandho śivāya naḥ kīrtaya tīrtha-kīrteḥ //

Therefore, O son of Kuṣāru, friend of the afflicted, extract like honey from flowers the very essence among all stories— / the narrative of Hari, the giver of peace, whose fame is sacred—and recite it for our welfare.

15. Therefore, Kausharava, O friend of the distressed, be pleased to extract as from flowersand tell us for our good, only the story of Sri Hari, the essence of all stories—of Hari who is the giver of happiness and whose fame purifies (the world).

3.5.16

sa viśva-janma-sthiti-saṃyamārthe kṛtāvatāraḥ pragṛhīta-śaktiḥ /
cakāra karmāṇy atipūruṣāṇi yānīśvaraḥ kīrtaya tāni mahyam //

Recite to me those superhuman deeds which the sovereign Lord performed, / having assumed incarnations and grasped his powers for the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the universe.

16. Sing me the superhuman deeds of the supreme Lord who made avataras and assumed powers (Saktis) for the purpose of creating, preserving and destroying the universe.

3.5.17

/0 śrī-śuka uvāca
sa evaṃ bhagavān pṛṣṭaḥ kṣattrā kauṣāravo muniḥ /
puṃsāṃ niḥśreyasārthena tam āha bahu-mānayan //

Śrī Śuka said:
Thus questioned by the Kṣattṛ [Vidura] for the ultimate welfare of men, / the venerable sage Kauṣārava [Maitreya] addressed him with great respect.

17. Sri Suka said ;—Being thus asked by Vidura for the supreme good of men, the reverend sage Kausharava spoke to him thus with high regard (with much approbation) :—

3.5.18

/0 maitreya uvāca
sādhu pṛṣṭaṃ tvayā sādho lokān sādhv anugṛhṇatā /
kīrtiṃ vitanvatā loke ātmano 'dhokṣajātmanaḥ //

Maitreya said:
Well have you questioned, O virtuous one, showering your grace upon the worlds, / spreading in the world your own fame as one whose self belongs to Adhokṣaja.

18. (Maitreya said): O pious Vidura, a good enquiry is made by you, who are (thereby) doing a great favour to men (the world), and who will (by the way) extend your fame, for having (thus) devoted your mind to Adhokshaja (Hari.).

3.5.19

naitac citraṃ tvayi kṣattar bādarāyaṇa-vīryaje /
gṛhīto 'nanya-bhāvena yat tvayā harir īśvaraḥ //

This is no wonder in you, O Kṣattṛ, born of the seed of Bādarāyaṇa, / since Hari, the Supreme Lord, has been embraced by you with exclusive devotion.

19. This is nothing strange, O Vidura, in you born of Badarayana’s loins ; for, Hari, the supreme Lord, has been secured by you through unswerving devotion.

3.5.20

māṇḍavya-śāpād bhagavān prajā-saṃyamano yamaḥ /
bhrātuḥ kṣetre bhujiṣyāyāṃ jātaḥ satyavatī-sutāt //

By the curse of Māṇḍavya, the lord Yama, the restrainer of creatures, / was born of the son of Satyavatī [Vyāsa] in the wife of his brother as a servant-maid.

20. You are the powerful God Yama, the punisher of all beings ; and you were born of a maid-servant who became the wife of his (step) by Vyasa, brother, the son of Satyavati.

3.5.21

bhavān bhagavato nityaṃ sammataḥ sānugasya ha /
yasya jñānopadeśāya mādiśad bhagavān vrajan //

You are ever esteemed by the Lord and his followers; / for on his departure the Lord instructed me to impart knowledge to you.

21. You are ever beloved of the Lord and His followers (votaries) ; and the Lord bade me be your preceptor when He was about to leave (the world).

3.5.22

atha te bhagaval-līlā yoga-māyorubṛṃhitāḥ /
viśva-sthity-udbhavāntārthā varṇayāmy anupūrvaśaḥ //

Now, in regular succession, I will describe to you the divine plays of the Lord, / amplified by his supreme creative power, for the sake of the universe's maintenance, origination, and end.

22. Therefore I shall describe in detail, and in the proper order, the Lord's Leelas which are full and grand as embodying His Yogamayas, and which comprehend topics ranging over the maintenance, origin (creation) and end of the universe.

3.5.23

bhagavān eka āsedam agra ātmātmanāṃ vibhuḥ /
ātmecchānugatāv ātmā nānā-maty-upalakṣaṇaḥ //

In the beginning the Lord alone was this [all]—the Self of selves, the all-pervading, / the one Self following his own will, yet indicated by various faculties of mind.

23. Before (the creation of) this universe, (i.e., in the beginning) there was the almighty Lord (the Supreme Being) alone who is the Atman (or essence) and Lord of Atmans (jivas); the Lord who, when His will, i.e., Maya is withdrawn (or when He thinks of being alone) is not perceived as the seer or the seen or such other things, (who is but indicated by the various thoughts when the gross world exists.)

3.5.24

sa vā eṣa tadā draṣṭā nāpaśyad dṛśyam ekarāṭ /
mene 'santam ivātmānaṃ supta-śaktir asupta-dṛk //

He indeed, the sole sovereign Seer, saw then no object of sight; / with powers dormant, his vision unsleeping, he considered himself as if non-existent.

24. He was in fact the (one) Seer then; and the absolute Lord did not see the universe (as it had no existence); (all) His powers being asleep (latent), He regarded himself as if He were not, (though) His vision was never asleep (i. e., was never interrupted).

3.5.25

sā vā etasya saṃdraṣṭuḥ śaktiḥ sad-asad-ātmikā /
māyā nāma mahā-bhāga yayedaṃ nirmame vibhuḥ //

That very power of this Seer, comprising the manifest and unmanifest, / is named māyā, O fortunate one, by which the all-pervading Lord fashioned this [universe].

Verse 24. एकराट् V. Having one uniform uninterrupted light never subject to increase or decrease as in the case of the soul. सुप्तशक्तिः One whose Sakti in the form of Chit and Achit is in the subtle state. In that state the Supreme Being did not see anything of the visible effect. That He seemed to regard Himself as a non-being means that He was in a state in which He cannot be practically thought of, spoken of or dealt with in any manner, i.e., as one having neither forms or names. The particle इव indicates that the Lord is conscious of His relation to the subtle Chit and Achit as His body. D. The purport is "how Hari who was alone in the beginning began to think of creating the world again." एकराट् D. One supreme ruler. During Pralaya, He saw nothing of the gross world as existing, since everything had been withdrawn into Prakriti. His power of seeing was not affected, for He is the द्रष्टा a seer. And His vision is never interrupted by sleep. He saw (regarded) the आत्मानं the jiva class as if not existing, since it lay powerless. 25. And that indeed is the power of this perfect Seer which is in the form of both cause and effect, which is perceptible and imperceptible and which is essentially the self and the soul of the perceptible and the imperceptible; O highly blessed one, it is known as Maya, and in association with it, the omnipresent Being created this world.

3.5.26

kāla-vṛttyā tu māyāyāṃ guṇa-mayyām adhokṣajaḥ /
puruṣeṇātma-bhūtena vīryam ādhatta vīryavān //

By the function of Time, Adhokṣaja, possessing virile potency, / placed his seed into māyā, composed of the three qualities, through the Puruṣa who is his own manifestation.

26. Then, through force of Time Adhokshaja perfect in intelligent power infused it (intelligent power; the image of His intelligence) into Maya of which the Gunas became active, by means of the Purusha form, His own Amsa which presides over Prakriti.

3.5.27

tato 'bhavan mahat-tattvam avyaktāt kāla-coditāt /
vijñānātmātma-deha-sthaṃ viśvaṃ vyañjaṃs tamo-nudaḥ //

Then from the unmanifest, impelled by Time, arose the principle of the Mahat, / whose nature is consciousness, dispelling darkness and manifesting the universe abiding within its body.

27. Then the Mahat-Tattva was produced out of Avyakta (Prakriti) under the influence of Kala (Time) and it is the embodiment of Vignana capable of exhibiting the universe contained in the body of Atman and of dispelling darkness (ignorance).

3.5.28

so 'py aṃśa-guṇa-kālātmā bhagavad-dṛṣṭi-gocaraḥ /
ātmānaṃ vyakarod ātmā viśvasyāsya sisṛkṣayā //

That [Mahat], having the nature of parts, qualities, and time, resting within the range of the Lord's glance, / transformed itself through its desire to project this universe.

Verse 27. V. Out of Avyakta of which Paramatman is the soul and which is urged by Kala (time) the Lord who is Himself Vignana being the Antaratma of Jiva and intending to exhibit the universal of effect existing in Prakriti His own body and becoming the guide and director of Prakriti in the subtle state the Lord Himself became the Mahat-Tattva i.e. He now appeared with Mahat for His body. D. The Mahat Tattva was 28. And that too subject to the influence of the Amsa, (the intelligent image), the guanas (the material cause), and Kala (the agitator) and coming under the vision of the All-powerful Lord, displayed itself in another form (Ahankara) for the purpose of creating the universe.

3.5.29

mahat-tattvād vikurvāṇād ahaṃ-tattvaṃ vyajāyata /
kārya-kāraṇa-kartrātmā bhūtendriya-mano-mayaḥ //

From the transforming principle of the Mahat was born the principle of ego, / comprising cause, effect, and agent, consisting of elements, senses, and mind.

29. (Thus) from the Mahat-Tattva undergoing modification was produced the Ahankara-tattva which is the source of the effect (Adhibhuta), the cause (Adhyatma) and the agent (Adhidaiva,) and constitutes the Bhutas, the Indriyas and the Manas.

3.5.30

vaikārikas taijasaś ca tāmasaś cety ahaṃ tridhā /
ahaṃ-tattvād vikurvāṇān mano vaikārikād abhūt /
vaikārikāś ca ye devā arthābhivyañjanaṃ yataḥ //

Ego is threefold: sättvika, rājasika, and tāmasika. / From the transforming ego, the mind arose from the sättvika, / and the deities who are sättvika, from whom arises the manifestation of objects.

30. Ahankara is of three kinds as Vaikarika, Taijasa, and Tamasa? Aham-tattva undergoing modification, the Manas was produced out of the Vaikarika, as also the gods who are Vaikarikas (as invested with Vaikarika Ahankara), and from whom the objects of the senses perceive light (by whom the objects are brought to light or evolved).

3.5.31

taijasānīndriyāṇy eva jñāna-karma-mayāni ca /
tāmaso bhūta-sūkṣmādir yataḥ khaṃ liṅgam ātmanaḥ //

From the rājasika [arose] the senses of knowledge and action; / and the tāmasika is the subtle elements and the like, from which comes ether, the symbol of the Self.

31. The Indriyas which are the instruments of knowledge and action are all constituted only of Taijasa Ahankara. The Tamasà-Ahankara is the cause of the subtle Bhuta namely *sound*, out of which is evolved Akasa, which is the means of knowing Atman and which is the body of Atman.

3.5.32

kāla-māyāṃśa-yogena bhagavad-vīkṣitaṃ nabhaḥ /
nabhaso 'nusṛtaṃ sparśaṃ vikurvan nirmame 'nilam //

Glanced upon by the Lord, ether, through conjunction with Time and a portion of māyā, / undergoing transformation, produced touch, and from touch, air.

32. (Then) Akasa in conjunction with Kala, Maya, and Amsa (Time, Prakriti and intelligent image), came under the vision of the Almighty Lord; and Touch (having) evolved out of such Akasa underwent modification and produced Vayu.

3.5.33

anilo 'pi vikurvāṇo nabhasoru-balānvitaḥ /
sasarja rūpa-tanmātraṃ jyotir lokasya locanam //

Air also, undergoing transformation and endowed with great strength from ether, / produced the subtle element of form: light, the eye of the world.

33. And Vayu possessed of great force became modified in conjunction with Akasa, produced the subtle principle of Rupa or colour and (from which issued) light, the eye of the world.

3.5.34

anilenānvitaṃ jyotir vikurvat paravīkṣitam /
ādhattāmbho rasa-mayaṃ kāla-māyāṃśa-yogataḥ //

Light, combined with air, transforming and looked upon by the Supreme, / brought forth water, composed of taste, through conjunction with Time and a portion of māyā.

34. Light in conjunction with Vayu became modified under the supervision of the Supreme Being, and produced water embodying the principle of taste, (being favoured with the) conjunction of Kala, Maya, and Amsa.

3.5.35

jyotiṣāmbho 'nusaṃsṛṣṭaṃ vikurvad brahma-vīkṣitam /
mahīṃ gandha-guṇām ādhāt kāla-māyāṃśa-yogataḥ //

Water, united with light, transforming and looked upon by Brahman, / brought forth earth, characterized by smell, through conjunction with Time and a portion of māyā.

35. And water together with light became modified under the eye of Brahman and through the conjunction of Kala, Maya, and Amsa, (it) produced the earth endowed with the principle of smell.

3.5.36

bhūtānāṃ nabha-ādīnāṃ yad yad bhavyāvarāvaram /
teṣāṃ parānusaṃsargād yathā saṅkhyaṃ guṇān viduḥ //

Among the elements, beginning with ether, whatever is successively later, / they recognize in it qualities according to number, owing to its association with what preceded it.

36. O worthy Vidura, of the Bhutas commencing with Akasa, the wise know (say) that according as each is later in evolution its qualities are in due order *as many as are the earlier links connected with each Bhuta*.

3.5.37

ete devāḥ kalā viṣṇoḥ kāla-māyāṃśa-liṅginaḥ /
nānātvāt sva-kriyānīśāḥ procuḥ prāñjalayo vibhum //

These deities, portions of Viṣṇu, marked by portions of Time and māyā, / unable to perform their functions because of their separateness, spoke to the all-pervading Lord with folded hands:

37. These Gods, presiding over Mahat and other Tattvas are Amsas of Vishnu, bearing the mark of Kala, Maya and Amsa,

and being different [and equal to one another in respect of limitations] they were unable to do their work (to create the Anda); (and so), with joined hands they prayed to the supreme Lord and said.

3.5.38

/0 devā ūcuḥ
namāma te deva padāravindaṃ prapanna-tāpopaśamātapatram /
yan-mūla-ketā yatayo 'ñjasoru- saṃsāra-duḥkhaṃ bahir utkṣipanti //

The gods said:
We bow to your lotus feet, O God, an umbrella that quenches the torment of those who take refuge, / beneath which as their shelter ascetics easily cast away the vast sorrow of the cycle of rebirth.

38. (The gods said). O Lord, we bow to Thy lotus-like feet which is an umbrella to ward off the sufferings of those that resort to Thee, for the ascetics that take shelter under them those feet) with certainty cast off the great miseries of samsara at a distance from them.

3.5.39

dhātar yad asmin bhava īśa jīvās tāpa-trayeṇābhihatā na śarma /
ātman labhante bhagavaṃs tavāṅghri- cchāyāṃ sa-vidyām ata āśrayema //

O Creator, O Lord, since in this worldly existence living beings, struck by the three kinds of suffering, / find no peace, we take refuge in the shade of your feet, which bestow knowledge, O Lord!

39. O Father, O Ruler, O Lord, O All-powerful Lord, because jivas do not find happiness, being stricken with the threefold affliction in this Samsara, we take shelter in the shade of Thy feet.

3.5.40

mārganti yat te mukha-padma-nīḍaiś chandaḥ-suparṇair ṛṣayo vivikte /
yasyāgha-marṣoda-sarid-varāyāḥ padaṃ padaṃ tīrtha-padaḥ prapannāḥ //

Which sages seek in solitude with the wings of the Vedic hymns, using your lotus face as their nest; / and to whose sanctuary—the best of rivers [the Gaṅgā], washing away sins—pilgrims have recourse at every step;

40. We have resorted (we resort to) to those holy feet of Thine which are the source of the Ganga, the most sacred of all the rivers whose waters cleanse men of their sin, and of which (the feet) Rishis in solitude are in search with the help of the birds of Vedas which dwell in the nest of Thy Lotus-like face.

3.5.41

yac chraddhayā śrutavatyā ca bhaktyā sammṛjyamāne hṛdaye 'vadhāya /
jñānena vairāgya-balena dhīrā vrajema tat te 'ṅghri-saroja-pīṭham //

fixing which [feet] in a heart purified with faith and devotion born of listening, / may we, wise through the power of dispassion and knowledge, attain that footstool of your lotus feet!

41. We resort to the footstool (take shelter) under Thy lotuslike feet which we contemplate in our hearts cleansed of all impurity through faith and study and devotion, and grow wise through knowledge that grows stronger by renunciation.

3.5.42

viśvasya janma-sthiti-saṃyamārthe kṛtāvatārasya padāmbujaṃ te /
vrajema sarve śaraṇaṃ yad īśa smṛtaṃ prayacchaty abhayaṃ sva-puṃsām //

O Lord, we all take refuge in the lotus of your feet—you who have assumed incarnations for the universe's creation, maintenance, and destruction— / which, when remembered, grant fearlessness to your own devotees.

42. For the sake of our protection we all resort to the lotus-like feet of Thee who hast made avatars for the purposes of the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the Universe—

(Thy feet which being remembered, O Lord, confer the state of fearlessness on Thine own people (on the devout souls).

3.5.43

yat sānubandhe 'sati deha-gehe mamāham ity ūḍha-durāgrahāṇām /
puṃsāṃ sudūraṃ vasato 'pi puryāṃ bhajema tat te bhagavan padābjam //

Though you dwell in the body, your lotus feet are very far from those men / who obstinately cling to 'I' and 'mine' in the fleeting body, home, and ties; yet we worship those feet of yours, O Lord!

43. O Almighty Lord, we worship and resort to Thy lotus-like feet which are very remote (inaccessible), though Thou art in their own body, to those men who have a rooted passion for (their) worthless body and house (property) and for their belongings.

3.5.44

tān vai hy asad-vṛttibhir akṣibhir ye parāhṛtāntar-manasaḥ pareśa /
atho na paśyanty urugāya nūnaṃ ye te padanyāsa-vilāsa-lakṣyāḥ //

O Supreme Lord, those whose inner minds are drawn away by eyes wandering after unreal objects / do not behold those feet of Yours, O widely sung one, which are marked by the playful placing of Your strides.

44. O Supreme Lord, those who have their mind led astray by the senses and drawn to unworthy objects, do not look at all towards those (others) who, O most praised Lord, are ever seeking after the splendour of Thy graceful foot-steps.

3.5.45

pānena te deva kathā-sudhāyāḥ pravṛddha-bhaktyā viśadāśayā ye /
vairāgya-sāraṃ pratilabhya bodhaṃ yathāñjasānvīyur akuṇṭha-dhiṣṇyam //

By drinking the nectar of Your tales, O Lord, those whose hearts are purified through augmented devotion / attain discernment, the essence of dispassion, and quickly reach Your unhindered realm.

45. O Lord, those that by drinking of the nectar of Thy stories and by the intense devotion promoted by it, have their minds thoroughly purified, and obtain true knowledge, strong by virtue of renunciation, they surely attain to the eternal abode of Vishnu, without any great effort or difficulty.

3.5.46

tathāpare cātma-samādhi-yoga- balena jitvā prakṛtiṃ baliṣṭhām /
tvām eva dhīrāḥ puruṣaṃ viśanti teṣāṃ śramaḥ syān na tu sevayā te //

Likewise, others, the resolute, by the power of self-absorbed concentration and yoga, having conquered potent material nature, / enter into You alone, the Puruṣa; but for them there is toil, while none exists through service unto You.

46. But others subdue this most powerful Prakriti by the strength of yoga which consists in the concentration of the mind upon Atman; and thus being firm in their conviction and faith, they enter Thee, the Purusha; and great is the hardship these undergo, whereas there is no hardship whatever in worshipping Thee.

3.5.47

tat te vayaṃ loka-sisṛkṣayādya tvayānusṛṣṭās tribhir ātmabhiḥ sma /
sarve viyuktāḥ sva-vihāra-tantraṃ na śaknumas tat pratihartave te //

Therefore, O Lord, created by You through the three primary factors with a desire to create the worlds, / we, being separated, are unable to offer back to You the mechanism of Your divine play.

47. O First Being, now, we who have been created by Thee for the purpose of creating the world, (and) have been

endowed with three different natures, Satvika, Rajasa and Tamasa, are separated, and are therefore not able to offer Thee the world (so created), the scene of Thy sportful activities.

3.5.48

yāvad baliṃ te 'ja harāma kāle yathā vayaṃ cānnam adāma yatra /
yathobhayeṣāṃ ta ime hi lokā baliṃ haranto 'nnam adanty anūhāḥ //

Give [us power] so that we may offer You tribute at the proper time, O unborn one, so that we may partake of food where [appointed], / and so that all these beings may offer tribute and eat food without distress for both of us.

48. (We pray) that we may in due time bear Thee (our tributes) offerings, that we may eat our food, and that these worlds may take their stand in their place, bear offerings to both of us, and, without obstruction or doubt, find their own food.

3.5.49

tvaṃ naḥ surāṇām asi sānvayānāṃ kūṭa-stha ādyaḥ puruṣaḥ purāṇaḥ /
tvaṃ deva śaktyāṃ guṇa-karma-yonau retas tv ajāyāṃ kavim ādadhe 'jaḥ //

For us, the gods and our descendants, You are the unchangeable, primeval, ancient Puruṣa; / You, O unborn Lord, deposited seed in Your power, the unborn creative energy, the source of qualities and actions, generating the first creator.

49. O Lord, Thou art the First cause of us all, the gods, along with their causes or with those who are born of them ; Thou art the most ancient Purusha presiding over all, never subject to changes ; O God, Thou art the Unborn, and hast placed Thy seed which is all-intelligence, namely, Mahat Tattva, in the powerful Maya (Prakriti), the source of the three gunas and of all actions (birth, etc.)

3.5.50

tato vayaṃ mat-pramukhā yad-arthe babhūvimātman karavāma kiṃ te /
tvaṃ naḥ sva-cakṣuḥ paridehi śaktyā deva kriyārthe yad-anugrahāṇām //

Born for that purpose, with the cosmic intellect as our head, what may we do for You, O Self? / O Lord, grant us Your own vision by Your power, for the sake of action, since we are Your favored beings.

50. Therefore what should we, Mahat and others, do for Thee, towards the purpose for which we are born, O God ? be pleased to give us the eye (knowledge),—to us who depend upon Thy grace for doing the work assigned to us by Thee.