Bhagavatapurana 4.21: athaikaviṃśo'dhyāyaḥ

4.21.1

/0 maitreya uvāca
mauktikaiḥ kusuma-sragbhir dukūlaiḥ svarṇa-toraṇaiḥ /
mahā-surabhibhir dhūpair maṇḍitaṃ tatra tatra vai //

Maitreya said: / It was adorned here and there with pearls, flower garlands, / fine silken fabrics, golden archways, and highly fragrant incense,

1. Maitreya said:—The city was everywhere decorated with wreaths of pearls and flowers, with silks and golden festoons and perfumed with burning frankincense.

4.21.2

candanāguru-toyārdra- rathyā-catvara-mārgavat /
puṣpākṣata-phalais tokmair lājair arcirbhir arcitam //

having streets, squares, and roads sprinkled with sandalwood and aguru water, / and worshipped with flowers, unbroken grains, fruits, barley sprouts, roasted grain, and lamps,

2. The city had its streets and quadrangles moistened with water, scented with sandal and aguru; and was adorned with flowers, akshatas, fruits, tender shoots of barley, with fried rice and (illuminated with) lights.

4.21.3

savṛndaiḥ kadalī-stambhaiḥ pūga-potaiḥ pariṣkṛtam /
taru-pallava-mālābhiḥ sarvataḥ samalaṅkṛtam //

embellished with banana stems bearing fruit clusters and young betel trees, / and decorated all around with festoons of tree foliage.

3. It was everywhere decorated with groups of plantain trees and arecanut palms bearing branches of fruits and flowers, with wreaths of tender shoots of trees.

4.21.4

prajās taṃ dīpa-balibhiḥ sambhṛtāśeṣa-maṅgalaiḥ /
abhīyur mṛṣṭa-kanyāś ca mṛṣṭa-kuṇḍala-maṇḍitāḥ //

The subjects approached him with offerings of lamps and every kind of auspicious article, / as did adorned maidens decorated with bright earrings.

4. His subjects went forth to meet him with torches, with articles of worship, with all auspicious things accompanied by beautiful maidens adorned with highly wrought ear-rings.

4.21.5

śaṅkha-dundubhi-ghoṣeṇa brahma-ghoṣeṇa cartvijām /
viveśa bhavanaṃ vīraḥ stūyamāno gata-smayaḥ //

With the sound of conches and kettledrums and the Vedic chanting of the priests, / the heroic king, praised by all and devoid of pride, entered the palace.

5. Conches, and drums sounding, the sacrificial priests loudly repeating the Vedas, the king, though highly praised, yet untouched by pride, entered into his palace, O heroic one.

4.21.6

pūjitaḥ pūjayām āsa tatra tatra mahā-yaśāḥ /
paurāñ jānapadāṃs tāṃs tān prītaḥ priya-vara-pradaḥ //

Honored there, he of great renown honored in return, in each place, / those various city and country dwellers, delighted, granting desired boons.

6. At every stage (in his passage through the streets) the king of great renown was honoured; and he also duly honoured the citizens, as well as different classes of his subjects who came from the country (*i. e.*, from his kingdom at large); he was pleased with them and conferred on them the favours they desired.

4.21.7

sa evam ādīny anavadya-ceṣṭitaḥ karmāṇi bhūyāṃsi mahān mahattamaḥ /
kurvan śaśāsāvani-maṇḍalaṃ yaśaḥ sphītaṃ nidhāyāruruhe paraṃ padam //

Performing many such deeds of flawless conduct, / the great one, the foremost of the great, ruled the circle of the earth, and leaving abundant fame behind, ascended to the supreme abode.

7. (By) Doing very many great deeds like these (ever) in his, faultless activity, great by his virtue, and most worshipped of all, Pṛithu governed the earth; and having established his world-wide fame, he ascended to the highest place (the heavenly world).

4.21.8

/0 sūta uvāca
tad ādi-rājasya yaśo vijṛmbhitaṃ guṇair aśeṣair guṇavat-sabhājitam /
kṣattā mahā-bhāgavataḥ sadaspate kauṣāraviṃ prāha gṛṇantam arcayan //

Sūta said: / As the famous deeds of the primal king, expanded by all virtues, were celebrated by the virtuous, / the kṣattā, the exalted devotee of the Lord, spoke to Kauṣāravi as he praised him, honoring him, O master of the assembly:

8. Suta said:—Then, O Saunaka, Vidura, the great votary of the Lord, praised and worshipped Maitreya who was thus singing the world-wide fame of the first king, which spread more and more by virtue of his possessing all qualities and praised by all men of excellent qualities; and he said (as follows):

4.21.9

/0 vidura uvāca
so 'bhiṣiktaḥ pṛthur viprair labdhāśeṣa-surārhaṇaḥ /
bibhrat sa vaiṣṇavaṃ tejo bāhvor yābhyāṃ dudoha gām //

Vidura said: / Consecrated by the brāhmaṇas, having obtained offerings from all the gods, / and bearing the Vaiṣṇava power in his two arms with which he milked the earth,

9 & 10. Vidura said:—Of that Pṛithu who was installed as king by wise Brahmans, received honours of all the gods and bore in his arms the power of Vishnu with which he milked the earth (in the form of a cow)—of that Pṛithu, which wise man would not hear the praises?—(for) only what has been left as the result of his prowess, all the kings of the earth and peoples with their protectors are enjoying to this day to their satisfaction — be pleased to tell me of the holy work of that Ruler.

4.21.10

ko nv asya kīrtiṃ na śṛṇoty abhijño yad-vikramocchiṣṭam aśeṣa-bhūpāḥ /
lokāḥ sa-pālā upajīvanti kāmam adyāpi tan me vada karma śuddham //

who indeed, if wise, would not listen to the fame of him whose leftover valor all kings / and the worlds together with their guardians live upon at will even today? Tell me of his pure deeds.

4.21.11

/0 maitreya uvāca
gaṅgā-yamunayor nadyor antarā kṣetram āvasan /
ārabdhān eva bubhuje bhogān puṇya-jihāsayā //

Maitreya said: / Residing in the tract between the Gaṅgā and Yamunā rivers, / he enjoyed only the fruits of deeds already commenced, desiring to exhaust his merit.

11. Maitreya said:— Dwelling in the holy tract between the rivers of Ganga and Yamuna, he enjoyed only those blessings which

had come to fruition for the purpose of ridding himself of even *punya* (the merit acquired by previous good deeds leading to other lives and experiences in Samsara).

4.21.12

sarvatrāskhalitādeśaḥ sapta-dvīpaika-daṇḍa-dhṛk /
anyatra brāhmaṇa-kulād anyatrācyuta-gotrataḥ //

His command was unhindered everywhere, wielding the sole staff of authority over the seven islands, / except over the family of brāhmaṇas, except over the lineage of Acyuta.

12. He exercised his sway unobstructed everywhere and held one sceptre all over the seven Dwipas (parts of the world) except over the Brahmans and the race of devotees of Vishnu (Bhagavatas), of which Lord Achyuta is regarded as the progenitor.

4.21.13

ekadāsīn mahā-satra- dīkṣā tatra divaukasām /
samājo brahmarṣīṇāṃ ca rājarṣīṇāṃ ca sattama //

Once, there was the consecration for a great sacrificial session, / where an assembly of gods, brahmin seers, and royal seers gathered, O best of the virtuous.

13. On one occasion he was consecrated as the performer (of a great sacrifice) and (then) a great assembly had met there of the gods, the Brahman sages, as well as of Royal sages, O foremost one among the virtuous.

4.21.14

tasminn arhatsu sarveṣu sv-arciteṣu yathārhataḥ /
utthitaḥ sadaso madhye tārāṇām uḍurāḍ iva //

When all the worthy had been duly honored according to their merit, / he arose in the midst of the assembly like the moon among the stars.

14. In the sacrifice, when all those who were worthy of it were duly honoured, he rose in the midst of the assembly like the moon in the midst of the stars.

4.21.15

prāṃśuḥ pīnāyata-bhujo gauraḥ kañjāruṇekṣaṇaḥ /
sunāsaḥ sumukhaḥ saumyaḥ pīnāṃsaḥ sudvija-smitaḥ //

He was tall, with plump, long arms, fair-complexioned, with eyes red as lotuses, / with a handsome nose, a beautiful face, gentle, with broad shoulders and a smile showing fine teeth,

15. He had a towering personality and had stout and long arms; he was of bright complexion; his eyes were red like lotus, nose and mouth well-shaped; his countenance was mild and engaging; high and full were his shoulders, his beautiful rows of teeth were bright with smiles;

4.21.16

vyūḍha-vakṣā bṛhac-chroṇir vali-valgu-dalodaraḥ /
āvarta-nābhir ojasvī kāñcanorur udagra-pāt //

with a broad chest, large hips, an abdomen lovely with folds, / a coiled navel, radiant, with thighs like gold, and arched feet,

16 & 17. His chest broad and full, loins full and stout, belly well-shaped and beautiful with folds, navel deep like whirpool; his senses and organs exceedingly brilliant; his thighs were splendid like golden posts; his forefeet full and prominent. The hair on his head was thin and curly, dark and glossy; his neck was shaped like a conch; he wore two very valuable pieces of silk cloths, one about his middle and one on his shoulders.

4.21.17

sūkṣma-vakrāsita-snigdha- mūrdhajaḥ kambu-kandharaḥ /
mahā-dhane dukūlāgrye paridhāyopavīya ca //

with fine, curled, black, glossy hair, and a neck like a conch-shell; / wearing and draping over his shoulder two very costly, excellent silken garments,

4.21.18

vyañjitāśeṣa-gātra-śrīr niyame nyasta-bhūṣaṇaḥ /
kṛṣṇājina-dharaḥ śrīmān kuśa-pāṇiḥ kṛtocitaḥ //

his entire bodily splendor revealed, his ornaments laid aside in vow, / clad in a black antelope skin, glorious, with kuśa grass in hand, having performed the proper rites,

18. The splendour of his whole person was manifest, since he had laid aside all his ornaments during his sacrificial service. He was clad in deer skin, held the sacred grass in his hand and was engaged in doing all that was proper at the time and looked splendid.

4.21.19

śiśira-snigdha-tārākṣaḥ samaikṣata samantataḥ /
ūcivān idam urvīśaḥ sadaḥ saṃharṣayann iva //

with cool, loving pupils in his eyes, he looked all around; / and the lord of the earth spoke these words, as if delighting the assembly,

19 & 20. Now he cast his looks on all sides which expressed gentleness and affection (and) the Lord of the earth intending to fill the whole assembly with joy spoke as follows in words, winning and wonderful, soft and select, deep and yet clear, as if recapitulating at the time his experience for the benefit of all.

4.21.20

cāru citra-padaṃ ślakṣṇaṃ mṛṣṭaṃ gūḍham aviklavam /
sarveṣām upakārārthaṃ tadā anuvadann iva //

in lovely, varied words, smooth, polished, profound, and composed, / as if repeating them then for the benefit of all.

4.21.21

/0 rājovāca
sabhyāḥ śṛṇuta bhadraṃ vaḥ sādhavo ya ihāgatāḥ /
satsu jijñāsubhir dharmam āvedyaṃ sva-manīṣitam //

The king said: / Members of the assembly, listen—blessed be you, good people who have come here! / By those seeking to know dharma, their own thought should be submitted to the virtuous devotees.

21. The king said; "O worthy men in the assembly, may you be happy, may you and those righteous men that have come hither listen to me! For those who intend to enquire into righteousness should submit their own ideas for the examination of the learned and righteous; (and so do I)."

4.21.22

ahaṃ daṇḍa-dharo rājā prajānām iha yojitaḥ /
rakṣitā vṛttidaḥ sveṣu setuṣu sthāpitā pṛthak //

I am the king appointed here as the wielder of the staff for the subjects, / their protector, provider of livelihood, and who establishes each in their own boundaries.

22. "Here am I appointed as king to rule over these subjects and as their protector, as one that should afford them means of living and maintain them severally within their respective bounds (round prescribed duties)."

4.21.23

tasya me tad-anuṣṭhānād yān āhur brahma-vādinaḥ /
lokāḥ syuḥ kāma-sandohā yasya tuṣyati diṣṭa-dṛk //

To me who perform that duty, there should belong the realms full of all desires, as the expounders of the Veda declare, / when he who oversees destiny is pleased.

23. May those regions which are said to be attainable by observing those duties and which yield all that may be desired, become accessible to me, whom the Omniscient Lord is pleased to appoint (as such)!

4.21.24

ya uddharet karaṃ rājā prajā dharmeṣv aśikṣayan /
prajānāṃ śamalaṃ bhuṅkte bhagaṃ ca svaṃ jahāti saḥ //

A king who exacts tax without instructing the subjects in their dharmas / consumes the sin of the subjects and forfeits his own good fortune.

24. (On the other hand) the king who levies tax upon his subjects, but does not instruct and keep them in righteous ways, — only eats (shares in) their sin and loses his own good fortune to boot.

4.21.25

tat prajā bhartṛ-piṇḍārthaṃ svārtham evānasūyavaḥ /
kurutādhokṣaja-dhiyas tarhi me 'nugrahaḥ kṛtaḥ //

Therefore, O subjects, for the benefit of your ruler in the hereafter and for your own good, / without malice, with your minds fixed on Adhokṣaja, do this—then mercy is shown to me.

25. Therefore, O my subjects, do you, untouched by jealousy or envy for the purpose of maintaining your own lord, thereby achieving your own purpose, — do you your duties giving your mind to Adhokshaja; thereby you would have conferred a favour on me.

4.21.26

yūyaṃ tad anumodadhvaṃ pitṛ-devarṣayo 'malāḥ /
kartuḥ śāstur anujñātus tulyaṃ yat pretya tat phalam //

You, pure ancestors, gods, and seers, approve of this; / for the agent, the instructor, and the one who consents share equal fruit after death.

26. O Pitris, Devas, and Rishis who are all holy, sinless, may you be then pleased to bestow on me that fruit of which the doer, the director, as well as one who approves do obtain the share due to them on going (to the other world)!

4.21.27

asti yajña-patir nāma keṣāñcid arha-sattamāḥ /
ihāmutra ca lakṣyante jyotsnāvatyaḥ kvacid bhuvaḥ //

According to some, O best of the worthy, there is indeed a Lord of sacrifice; / for in this world and the next, certain luminous realms are seen.

27. O most worthy men, there is, according to some who are full of faith, one who is the Lord of the sacrifices in this as well as

in the other world, there are in observation certain regions which are always bright with moonlight (regions include persons) possessed of bodies which are the means of enjoying the worldly blessings, the result of various Karma.

4.21.28

manor uttānapādasya dhruvasyāpi mahīpateḥ /
priyavratasya rājarṣer aṅgasyāsmat-pituḥ pituḥ //

For Manu, Uttānapāda, and King Dhruva, / for the royal seer Priyavrata, and for Aṅga, the father of my father,

28, 29, 30. In the view of Manu, Uttanapada, even king Dhruva, Priyavrata the saintly king as also king Anga, my grand-father and of many others like these, of the fourfaced Brahma and Siva, of Prahlada and Bali there is something gained or to be gained from Gadabhrut (Sri Narayana, the wielder of mace) (according to their view there is the necessity for admitting the existence of god). Except in the view of the grandson (Vena) and the like forming the race of *mrityu* (Death) there is the necessity for an all-powerful God in respect of the pitiable creatures perplexed with regard to righteous courses; for there must be generally but one common cause (power) which confers the three objects of Dharma, Artha, Kama and Swarga and Moksha.

4.21.29

īdṛśānām athānyeṣām ajasya ca bhavasya ca /
prahlādasya baleś cāpi kṛtyam asti gadābhṛtā //

as well as for other such beings, and for the Unborn and for Bhava, / for Prahlāda and for Bali, there is a relationship of duty with the Bearer of the Club.

4.21.30

dauhitrādīn ṛte mṛtyoḥ śocyān dharma-vimohitān /
varga-svargāpavargāṇāṃ prāyeṇaikātmya-hetunā //

Except for the maternal grandson of Death and others like him, who are pitiable and bewildered about dharma, / for he is generally the cause of oneness for the three pursuits, heaven, and liberation.

4.21.31

yat-pāda-sevābhirucis tapasvinām aśeṣa-janmopacitaṃ malaṃ dhiyaḥ /
sadyaḥ kṣiṇoty anvaham edhatī satī yathā padāṅguṣṭha-viniḥsṛtā sarit //

Taste for the service of his feet immediately destroys the impurity of the mind / accumulated over countless births by austere persons, constantly increasing, just like the river flowing from the toe of his foot.

31, 32 & 33. Do you worship only Him, an ever growing and pious wish to worship whose feet removes at once like the stream, Ganga, that has issued from the great toe of the Lord, the sin accumulated through many lives in the mind of those that are engaged in contemplation and austerities.

4.21.32

vinirdhutāśeṣa-mano-malaḥ pumān asaṅga-vijñāna-viśeṣa-vīryavān /
yad-aṅghri-mūle kṛta-ketanaḥ punar na saṃsṛtiṃ kleśa-vahāṃ prapadyate //

A person who has completely shaken off all impurities of mind and is empowered by the special power of unattached wisdom, / having made his dwelling at the root of his feet, never again enters transmigration that brings suffering.

Having taken shelter under whose feet a person gets rid of all sin besetting the mind, develops his spiritual strength, through absence of attachment and superior wisdom, does not come back to the wordly life, the source of miseries; do you worship Him alone by means of

4.21.33

tam eva yūyaṃ bhajatātma-vṛttibhir mano-vacaḥ-kāya-guṇaiḥ sva-karmabhiḥ /
amāyinaḥ kāma-dughāṅghri-paṅkajaṃ yathādhikārāvasitārtha-siddhayaḥ //

Worship him alone through the functions of your self, through your own actions / with the qualities of mind, speech, and body, free of deceit, his lotus feet granting all desires, according to your qualification and attained goals.

D. All worship Him for the attainment of Moksha which is determined for them according to several grades of eligibility. your own course of duties; by means of duties pertaining to the mind, spleen and body, free from hypocrisy — do you worship Him whose lotus-like feet yields all blessings, every one being confident of the final attainment according to his qualification.

4.21.34

asāv ihāneka-guṇo 'guṇo 'dhvaraḥ pṛthag-vidha-dravya-guṇa-kriyoktibhiḥ /
sampadyate 'rthāśaya-liṅga-nāmabhir viśuddha-vijñāna-ghanaḥ svarūpataḥ //

He, though devoid of qualities, is the sacrifice of many qualities in this world, constituted by various substances, qualities, rites, and mantras, / with forms, intentions, symbols, and names, yet in his own nature a mass of pure consciousness.

34. The same Lord who is essentially the embodiment of pure and perfect wisdom, though destitute of attributes in the form of various substances as rice and other things, qualities as white and so on, actions as pounding, winnowing, etc., speech as mantras, purpose or accessory intention or will, the power or virtue of things, names as _jyotishtoma_ and the like.

4.21.35

pradhāna-kālāśaya-dharma-saṅgrahe śarīra eṣa pratipadya cetanām /
kriyā-phalatvena vibhur vibhāvyate yathānalo dāruṣu tad-guṇātmakaḥ //

Assuming consciousness in this body, which is a combination of primal matter, time, latent tendencies, and dharma, / the all-pervading Lord is perceived as the fruit of actions, just as fire in pieces of wood takes on their qualities.

35. While in the body which is the product of _Avyakta_ (the unseen subtle principle) manifesting itself into gross bodies, _Kala_ (time that sets things at work), _Asaya_ (reminiscences) and Dharma (the unseen merit or quality of each individual), he (the Supreme Being)

The Omniscient Lord who keeps under His control Prakriti, Time, which is the condition of fruition, the mind, and Karma, the unseen limitation of Jivas, enters the Jiva who, having eschewed all attachment, remains only in nominal relation to a body; and at this stage by that righteous Jiva the Lord is realised as the dispenser of fruits of actions in due measure to the Jivas. And the Lord is unaffected in all these relations, just as fire is though variously perceived in deffeattains to the state of a conscious being (in relation to external objects) and appears to be the fruit of (sacrificial) action just as fire in relation to fuel appears to be characterised by certain peculiarities.

4.21.36

aho mamāmī vitaranty anugrahaṃ hariṃ guruṃ yajña-bhujām adhīśvaram /
sva-dharma-yogena yajanti māmakā nirantaraṃ kṣoṇi-tale dṛḍha-vratāḥ //

Ah! These people of mine bestow grace upon me, / for with steadfast vows they continually worship Hari on earth, the spiritual master and supreme lord of those who partake of sacrifice, through the yoga of their own dharma.

36. How happy I am that these people of mine (really) bless me in that they, having taken firm vows on earth, by observing their own righteous duties, incessantly worship the Supreme Lord of those (Indra and other gods) that receive sacrificial offerings, and who is Hari, preceptor (and father).

4.21.37

mā jātu tejaḥ prabhaven maharddhibhis titikṣayā tapasā vidyayā ca /
dedīpyamāne 'jita-devatānāṃ kule svayaṃ rāja-kulād dvijānām //

Never may the power arising from the royal family prevail / over the family of the twice-born whose deity is the Invincible, blazing through forbearance, austerity, and learning, and endowed with great prosperity.

37. May not the fire (force) of the Kshatriya race (ruling race) kindled by their extensive wealth and prosperity invade the race of Brahmans whose deity is Ajita (Vishnu) and which (the Brahman race) naturally shines brilliantly by its learning, wisdom, austerities and power of endurance.

4.21.38

brahmaṇya-devaḥ puruṣaḥ purātano nityaṃ harir yac-caraṇābhivandanāt /
avāpa lakṣmīm anapāyinīṃ yaśo jagat-pavitraṃ ca mahattamāgraṇīḥ //

Because of constantly revering their feet, the ancient Person, the God favorable to brāhmaṇas, / Hari, the foremost of the most exalted, obtained Lakṣmī who never departs, and fame that purifies the universe.

38. By always worshipping their feet Hari the most ancient person, the Diety, gracious unto Brahmans and the foremost one among the worshipful, obtained Lakshmi that never leaves him and the glory that purifies the world.

4.21.39

yat-sevayāśeṣa-guhāśayaḥ sva-rāḍ vipra-priyas tuṣyati kāmam īśvaraḥ /
tad eva tad-dharma-parair vinītaiḥ sarvātmanā brahma-kulaṃ niṣevyatām //

Since the sovereign Lord, who dwells in the heart of all and loves brāhmaṇas, is thoroughly pleased by their service, / let the family of brāhmaṇas be served with all one's being by humble persons devoted to his dharma.

39. The Supreme Lord who dwells in the heart of all creatures, who as the absolute ruler and beloved of Brahmans is highly pleased with the worship of Brahmans; therefore let the race of Brahmans be worshipped with sincere and full heart by those that are properly trained and divoted to righteous duties, pleasing to Him (Hari).

4.21.40

pumān labhetānativelam ātmanaḥ prasīdato 'tyanta-śamaṃ svataḥ svayam /
yan-nitya-sambandha-niṣevayā tataḥ paraṃ kim atrāsti mukhaṃ havir-bhujām //

A man quickly attains supreme peace from within himself, by himself, when the Self is pleased;
by serving those who have an eternal connection with Him—what higher mouth for the eaters of sacrificial oblations is there here than that?

40 & 41. By the constant association and worship of that race a man soon attains the highest state of happiness (moksha), the mind also having by the same means become serene. Is there then a way (to propitiate) the gods better than that, the worship of the Brahman Race, the unlimited Lord who is essentially consciousness transcending the power of words (and the senses) does not so gladly accept the oblations thrown into the inanimate fire as He does the offerings made with perfect faith through the mouth of the Brahman to Him under the worshipful names of Indra and the other gods by those that have fully realised the truth (that all the gods are no other than the Lord Ananta, the Supreme Being of absolute consciousness).

4.21.41

aśnāty anantaḥ khalu tattva-kovidaiḥ śraddhā-hutaṃ yan-mukha ijya-nāmabhiḥ /
na vai tathā cetanayā bahiṣ-kṛte hutāśane pāramahaṃsya-paryaguḥ //

Ananta indeed eats through the mouths [of brāhmaṇas] when offered with faith by knowers of truth using the names of sacrifices;
He who is attained by the state of the supreme ascetic does not [eat] in that way in the fire, which is devoid of consciousness.

4.21.42

yad brahma nityaṃ virajaṃ sanātanaṃ śraddhā-tapo-maṅgala-mauna-saṃyamaiḥ /
samādhinā bibhrati hārtha-dṛṣṭaye yatredam ādarśa ivāvabhāsate //

That eternal, stainless, everlasting Brahman, which [brāhmaṇas] hold through faith, austerity, auspicious conduct, silence, and self-restraint,
and through absorption for the vision of the ultimate goal—in which this [universe] is reflected as in a mirror.

42 & 43. O Venerable Ones, may I wear all my life on my crown the dust on the lotus-like feet of those, who for the purpose of knowing their meaning, with faith, austerity, auspicious observances, and self-control and with a steady mind always bear (are in possession of) the Vedas which are eternal and faultless, and in which this Universe is seen (as clearly) as the face in a mirror; for the sin of that man who always wears that dust vanishes, while all the excellent qualities seek to abide in Him.

4.21.43

teṣām ahaṃ pāda-saroja-reṇum āryā vaheyādhi-kirīṭam āyuḥ /
yaṃ nityadā bibhrata āśu pāpaṃ naśyaty amuṃ sarva-guṇā bhajanti //

May I, noble ones, carry the dust of their lotus feet upon my crown throughout my life! / Bearing it constantly, a person's sins are swiftly destroyed, and all virtues wait upon him.

4.21.44

guṇāyanaṃ śīla-dhanaṃ kṛta-jñaṃ vṛddhāśrayaṃ saṃvṛṇate 'nu sampadaḥ /
prasīdatāṃ brahma-kulaṃ gavāṃ ca janārdanaḥ sānucaraś ca mahyam //

Prosperity attends one who is an abode of virtues, wealthy in character, grateful, and who takes refuge in the elders. / May the community of brāhmaṇas, cows, and Janārdana along with His attendants be pleased with me!

44. All kinds of wealth seek in ever increasing measure that man who is the abode of all excellent qualities and who, rich in piety, full of gratitude worships the elderly and wise men. May that race

of Brahmans and of cows as well as Janardana with all His attendants be gracious unto me!

4.21.46

/0 maitreya uvāca
iti bruvāṇaṃ nṛpatiṃ pitṛ-deva-dvijātayaḥ /
tuṣṭuvur hṛṣṭa-manasaḥ sādhu-vādena sādhavaḥ //

Maitreya said: / As the king was speaking thus, the pitṛs, gods, and twice-born, / virtuous devotees at heart, praised him with cries of 'Well done!'

45. The Pitris, Gods and Brahmans who were all righteous and good-natured, were highly pleased with the king who spoke thus and praised him in approbation with "(Thou hast spoken well, thou hast done well)."

4.21.47

putreṇa jayate lokān iti satyavatī śrutiḥ /
brahma-daṇḍa-hataḥ pāpo yad veno 'tyatarat tamaḥ //

"The Vedic revelation is indeed true, which says: 'Through a son one conquers the worlds,' / since even the wicked Vena, struck down by the brāhmaṇas' curse, has crossed beyond darkness.

46. The truthful Sruti says that one attains to the higher worlds by means of a son; accordingly the sinful Vena struck down by the punishment inflicted by Brahmans has crossed over Hell (got over Tamas, hell).

4.21.48

hiraṇyakaśipuś cāpi bhagavan-nindayā tamaḥ /
vivikṣur atyagāt sūnoḥ prahlādasyānubhāvataḥ //

And Hiraṇyakaśipu, too, who was about to enter darkness on account of blaspheming the Lord, / escaped it through the spiritual power of his son Prahlāda.

47. Hiranyakasipu also who was, by blaspheming the Lord, about to fall into hell got over it through the great virtue of his son Prahlada.

4.21.49

vīra-varya pitaḥ pṛthvyāḥ samāḥ sañjīva śāśvatīḥ /
yasyedṛśy acyute bhaktiḥ sarva-lokaika-bhartari //

O best of heroes, father of the earth, may you live for eternal years, / you who have such devotion to Acyuta, the sole maintainer of all the worlds!

48. O foremost one among heroes, O father of the earth, do thou live for ever, since thy devotion to Achyuta the one Lord of all the worlds is such (so great and intense).

4.21.50

aho vayaṃ hy adya pavitra-kīrte tvayaiva nāthena mukunda-nāthāḥ /
ya uttamaślokatamasya viṣṇor brahmaṇya-devasya kathāṃ vyanakti //

Ah, today we indeed have Mukunda as our master through you alone as our ruler, O you of pure renown, / who reveal the accounts of Viṣṇu, He of highest renown, the patron deity of brāhmaṇas!

49. How happy we are indeed to-day, O king of holy name, to have thee as our Lord also — thee who revealest to us (the nature of) Vishnu, the foremost one among the most praised, the Diety that blesses and loves Brahmans.

4.21.51

nātyadbhutam idaṃ nātha tavājīvyānuśāsanam /
prajānurāgo mahatāṃ prakṛtiḥ karuṇātmanām //

This is not very surprising, O master, this ruling of yours over your subjects; / affection for their people is the nature of the great, who are compassionate at heart.

50. It is no wonder, O lord, that thou thus commandest thy dependants; for it is the nature of the great, full of mercy that they love their subjects.

4.21.52

adya nas tamasaḥ pāras tvayopāsāditaḥ prabho /
bhrāmyatāṃ naṣṭa-dṛṣṭīnāṃ karmabhir daiva-saṃjñitaiḥ //

Today the other shore of darkness has been brought near to us by you, O lord, / for we were wandering, our vision lost through actions designated as fate.

51. O lord, it is to-day that to the other end of the region of darkness we have been led by thee — (we have emerged from darkness) — we who have been wandering having lost our eyes by the force of Karma called Daiva.

4.21.53

namo vivṛddha-sattvāya puruṣāya mahīyase /
yo brahma kṣatram āviśya bibhartīdaṃ sva-tejasā //

Obeisance to that most exalted Person of heightened purity, / who, having entered the priestly and royal powers, maintains this universe by His own splendor!"

52. We bow to the Most Exalted Person of perfect power who inspiring the Brahman race supports the Kshatriya race and having inspired the Kshatriya supports the Brahman race and, through them both, supports this Universe, (all) by virtue of His own force.