Bhagavatapurana 6.5: atha pañcamo'dhyāyaḥ

6.5.1

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
tasyāṃ sa pāñcajanyāṃ vai viṣṇumāyopabṛṃhitaḥ /
haryaśvasaṃjñān ayutaṃ putrān ajanayadvibhuḥ //

Śrī Śuka said:
In her, the daughter of Pañcajana, strengthened by Viṣṇu's creative power,
that powerful lord begot ten thousand sons known as the Haryaśvas.

1. & 2. Sri Suka said:—On that Panchajani, his wife, the Lord Daksha imbued with Vishnu's energy begot ten thousand sons called Haryaswas. Those sons of Daksha, O king! were all alike in righteous conduct and disposition; being commissioned by their father to create beings they went towards the west.

6.5.2

apṛthagdharmaśīlāste sarve dākṣāyaṇā nṛpa /
pitrā proktāḥ prajāsarge pratīcīṃ prayayurdiśam //

All those sons of Dakṣa, sharing the same righteous conduct, O king,
when instructed by their father to create offspring, went to the western region.

6.5.3

tatra nārāyaṇasarastīrthaṃ sindhusamudrayoḥ /
saṅgamo yatra sumahan munisiddhaniṣevitam //

There is the sacred ford Nārāyaṇasaras, where the confluence
of the Sindhu and the ocean is very grand, frequented by sages and Siddhas.

3. There they came to a great lake of sacred waters called Narayanasara which is resorted to by sages and Siddhas and situate at the place where the river Sinddhu meets the sea.

6.5.4

tadupasparśanādeva vinirdhūtamalāśayāḥ /
dharme pāramahaṃsye ca protpannamatayo 'py uta //

Just by bathing there, their minds were cleansed of impurities,
and their thoughts were also directed toward the state of the supreme ascetic;

4. Soon after bathing in, and drinking of, that water, they had their heart cleansed of all impurity and further had a settled mind for the righteous course of Paramahamsas. 5. Still feeling themselves bound by the command of their father they performed austere tapas, intent on the increase of population; (by God's will indeed) the divine sage Narada saw them thus exerting themselves to the utmost.

6.5.5

tepire tapa evograṃ pitrādeśena yantritāḥ /
prajāvivṛddhaye yattān devarṣistān dadarśa ha //

Bound by their father's command, they performed fierce ascetic penance.
As they were striving for the increase of progeny, the divine sage [Nārada] saw them.

6.5.6

uvāca cātha haryaśvāḥ kathaṃ srakṣyatha vai prajāḥ /
adṛṣṭvāntaṃ bhuvo yūyaṃ bāliśā bata pālakāḥ //

He said: 'O Haryaśvas, how will you create progeny?
You have not seen the end of the earth, yet [you act as] rulers—alas, foolish ones!

6. And also spoke to them thus:—O Haryaswas, how will you create peoples? I pity you for not having seen the end of the Bhu. How! you foolish young men (to be) the protectors!

6.5.7

tathaikapuruṣaṃ rāṣṭraṃ bilaṃ cādṛṣṭanirgamam /
bahurūpāṃ striyaṃ cāpi pumāṃsaṃ puṃścalīpatim //

Likewise, a realm of one person, a hole with no exit seen,
a woman of manifold forms, and a man who is the husband of an unchaste woman—'

7. Also not having seen (through) the kingdom of only one inhabitant, or known the hollow (hole) without an outlet, the woman of many shapes and the man who espouses a unchaste woman, the river flowing both ways.

6.5.8

nadīmubhayato vāhāṃ pañcapañcādbhutaṃ gṛham /
kvaciddhaṃsaṃ citrakathaṃ kṣaurapavyaṃ svayaṃ bhrami //

a river flowing both ways, a wondrous house made of five times five, / a swan elsewhere reciting marvelous tales, and a razor-sharp wheel whirling of its own accord—

8 & 9. The wonderful mansion built of the twenty-five, the swan of wonderful speech at one place, the sharp and strong as if made of the sword Vajra (the adamantine rod of Indra), the independent and itinerant. How, not having properly understood, through clever, the command of your wise father, will you proceed to create?

6.5.9

kathaṃ svapiturādeśamavidvāṃso vipaścitaḥ /
anurūpamavijñāya aho sargaṃ kariṣyatha //

ignorant of your father’s command, not understanding its true intent, / how, alas, will you proceed with creation, though you consider yourselves wise?

6.5.10

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
tan niśamyātha haryaśvā autpattikamanīṣayā /
vācaḥ kūṭaṃ tu devarṣeḥ svayaṃ vimamṛśurdhiyā //

Śrī Śuka said: / Having heard that, the Haryaśvas, with innate intelligence, / carefully reflected in their minds upon the celestial sage’s enigmatic words.

10. Sri Suka said:— As soon as they heard him Haryasvas endowed with in-born intelligence, began themselves to investigate, by force of the reasoning power, into the enigmatic words of the divine sage.

6.5.11

bhūḥ kṣetraṃ jīvasaṃjñaṃ yadanādi nijabandhanam /
adṛṣṭvā tasya nirvāṇaṃ kimasatkarmabhirbhavet //

The earth is the field known as the individual soul, which is its own beginningless bondage; / without seeing its cessation, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?

11. The Bhu is the ground called Jiva or Linga (subtle body), the cause of bondage from eternity; when the end of that body is not seen, what purpose could be served by worthless Karma (activities)?

6.5.12

eka eveśvarasturyo bhagavān svāśrayaḥ paraḥ /
tamadṛṣṭvābhavaṃ puṃsaḥ kimasatkarmabhirbhavet //

There is only one Ruler, the transcendent fourth state, the Lord, self-supported and supreme; / without seeing Him, who causes the end of rebirth for man, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?

12. There is but one Supreme Ruler who is the fourth, *i.e.*, the witness of all, omnipotent, not depending on another, perfect and distinct; till seeing Him who is eternally blessed, what purpose could be achieved by means of worthless acts (which are not resigned to Him)?

6.5.13

pumān naivaiti yadgatvā bilasvargaṃ gato yathā /
pratyagdhāmāvida iha kimasatkarmabhirbhavet //

Having entered that cave from which a man never returns, as if entering the netherworld paradise— / for one who does not know that inner abode, what purpose could be served in this world by fleeting actions?

13. So long as man does not know of Brahman (the interior light), after reaching which he does not return to Samsara like one who goes to Patala, of what avail are (then) worthless actions as leading only to (temporary) swarga and other places?

6.5.14

nānārūpātmano buddhiḥ svairiṇīva guṇānvitā /
tanniṣṭhāmagatasyeha kimasatkarmabhirbhavet //

Endowed with the guṇas, the intellect takes diverse forms like an unfaithful woman; / for one who has not attained constancy in the self, what purpose could be served in this world by fleeting actions?

14. The thought of man is, like a wayward woman, capable of various shapes under the influence of the three gunas; and to him who has not put an end to it (and gained wisdom) in this world, and who has not serenity of mind leading to renunciation, of what avail are actions?

6.5.15

tatsaṅgabhraṃśitaiśvaryaṃ saṃsarantaṃ kubhāryavat /
tadgatīrabudhasyeha kimasatkarmabhirbhavet //

Transmigrating like the husband of a bad wife, his sovereignty lost by association with her— / for an ignorant man who does not understand her movements in this world, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?

15. To a person that does not realise the Jiva to be one who has lost sight of his absoluteness (greatness) like one who, like his bad wife, follows his own courses (of pain and pleasure), of what avail are the actions which he does in his ignorance?

6.5.16

sṛṣṭyapyayakarīṃ māyāṃ velākūlāntavegitām /
mattasya tāmavijñasya kimasatkarmabhirbhavet //

Creative power causes creation and dissolution, sweeping along swiftly to its distant shores; / for one bewildered and ignorant of it, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?

16. To the person who forgetful under her sway does not realise that river to be Maya which is the auther of creation and destruction and rushes on in great velocity at the fords and banks (or at the ports), of what avail are the activities (induced by Maya)?

6.5.17

pañcaviṃśatitattvānāṃ puruṣo 'dbhutadarpaṇaḥ /
adhyātmamabudhasyeha kimasatkarmabhirbhavet //

The spirit is the wondrous observer of the twenty-five cosmic principles; / for one who is ignorant here of the self within, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?

17. Purusha (the Antaryamin) is the wonderful mirror (ground) of the twenty-five principles and to one who does not know Him as presiding over the body (the collection of all matter in the form of

cause and effect), of what avail are the worthless activities (induced by the false notion of agentship)?

6.5.18

aiśvaraṃ śāstramutsṛjya bandhamokṣānudarśanam /
viviktapadamajñāya kimasatkarmabhirbhavet //

Abandoning the divine scripture that shows bondage and liberation, / without knowing the secluded state, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?

18. To the person who neglects the Sastra that declares the Supreme Being and explains the states of bondage and release and who does not know how distinct are the intelligent and unintelligent beings, of what avail are the actions directed to external ends?

6.5.19

kālacakraṃ bhrami tīkṣṇaṃ sarvaṃ niṣkarṣayaj jagat /
svatantramabudhasyeha kimasatkarmabhirbhavet //

The sharp wheel of time whirls of itself, dragging away the entire world; / for an ignorant man who does not know it in this world, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?

19. To him who has not realised that the wheel of time is restlessly in motion, (sharp like a knife), wearing away the world and that it is the absolute force, of what avail are the worthless activities (towards limited ends, often proving futile)?

6.5.20

śāstrasya piturādeśaṃ yo na veda nivartakam /
kathaṃ tadanurūpāya guṇavisrambhy upakramet //

He who does not know the scripture, the father’s instruction that leads to cessation— / how could one, trusting in the guṇas, undertake action appropriate to it?

20. How could any one that does not understand that the Sastra is his father as the cause of his second birth, who does not know of the precept that would turn him from the world and who puts implicit faith in the worldly activity induced by the gunas, proceed to the work of creation?

6.5.21

iti vyavasitā rājan haryaśvā ekacetasaḥ /
prayayustaṃ parikramya panthānamanivartanam //

Having thus resolved with one mind, O king, the Haryaśvas / circumambulated him and set out on the path of no return.

21. Having, O king, thus unanimously come to a conclusion, Prachetasas went round him (Narada) and took to the path of "No returning."

6.5.22

svarabrahmaṇi nirbhāta hṛṣīkeśapadāmbuje /
akhaṇḍaṃ cittamāveśya lokān anucaran muniḥ //

Fixing his undivided mind upon the lotus feet of Hṛṣīkeśa, / which shone forth in the sound-Brahman, the sage wandered the worlds.

22. The sage also went about the worlds, devoting his undivided mind to Svara Brahman (as realised in musical notes), to the lotus-like feet of Hrishekesa directly visible to him.

6.5.23

nāśaṃ niśamya putrāṇāṃ nāradāc chīlaśālinām /
anvatapyata kaḥ śocan suprajastvaṃ śucāṃ padam //

Hearing of the disappearance of his sons, who were possessed of excellent character, due to Nārada, / Dakṣa lamented, grieving: 'Good offspring is a source of grief!'

23. On hearing the loss in respect of his excellent and righteous sons through Narada's precept, Daksha was much pained and lamented them, saying that to have good children is a source of grief.

6.5.24

sa bhūyaḥ pāñcajanyāyāmajena parisāntvitaḥ /
putrān ajanayaddakṣaḥ savalāśvān sahasriṇaḥ //

Consoled by the unborn Brahmā, Dakṣa once again / fathered one thousand sons, the Savalāśvas, upon Pāñcajanī.

24. (When) consoled by Brahma, Daksha again had by

Panchajanya a thousand sons called Sabalaswas.

6.5.25

te ca pitrā samādiṣṭāḥ prajāsarge dhṛtavratāḥ /
nārāyaṇasaro jagmuryatra siddhāḥ svapūrvajāḥ //

Directed by their father and resolved upon the creation of offspring, / they went to Lake Nārāyaṇa-saras, where their elder brothers had attained perfection.

25. These too, commanded by their father to create people, took their vow, and went to the Narayana Saras where their elder brothers had attained wisdom.

6.5.26

tadupasparśanādeva vinirdhūtamalāśayāḥ /
japanto brahma paramaṃ tepustatra mahat tapaḥ //

Merely by bathing there, with the impurities of their minds cleansed, / chanting the supreme Brahman, they performed great austerities there.

26. As soon as they touched those sacred waters they had their mind and heart completely cleansed, and there they performed austere tapas, contemplating the Highest Brahman (the import of most Sacred Veda).

6.5.27

abbhakṣāḥ katicin māsān katicidvāyubhojanāḥ /
ārādhayan mantramimamabhyasyanta iḍaspatim //

Subsisting on water for some months, and feeding on air for some, / they worshipped the Lord of speech, repeating this mantra:

27. Living on water for some months and for some months on mere air, and repeating this mantra, they worshipped Vishnu, the Lord of mantras.

6.5.28

oṃ namo nārāyaṇāya puruṣāya mahātmane /
viśuddhasattvadhiṣṇyāya mahāhaṃsāya dhīmahi //

"Om, salutations to Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Spirit, the Great Self, / whose abode is pure sattva, the Great Swan: upon Him we meditate."

28. [The Sacred formula] to be repeated as in the original].

6.5.29

iti tān api rājendra prajāsargadhiyo muniḥ /
upetya nāradaḥ prāha vācaḥ kūṭāni pūrvavat //

As they too, O best of kings, were intent upon the creation of offspring, the sage / Nārada approached them and spoke enigmatic words just as before:

29. The sage Narada came up, O king, to these also who were intent upon their duty of creation, and addressed to them the same enigmatic words as before.

6.5.30

dākṣāyaṇāḥ saṃśṛṇuta gadato nigamaṃ mama /
anvicchatānupadavīṃ bhrātṝṇāṃ bhrātṛvatsalāḥ //

"Listen well, sons of Dakṣa, to the precept I speak: / affectionate toward your brothers, seek the path taken by your brothers.

30. O sons of Daksha, listen to the precept as I utter; as you are full of fraternal love, do you seek to follow the foot-steps of your brothers.

6.5.31

bhrātṝṇāṃ prāyaṇaṃ bhrātā yo 'nutiṣṭhati dharmavit /
sa puṇyabandhuḥ puruṣo marudbhiḥ saha modate //

A brother who knows dharma and follows the path of his brothers— / that man, a true friend to virtue, rejoices with the Maruts."

31. The brother who understands Dharma and follows the great path of his brothers, becomes befriended by Merit and will find joy in the company of the gods known as Maruts (distinguished for fraternal love).

6.5.32

etāvaduktvā prayayau nārado 'moghadarśanaḥ /
te 'pi cānvagaman mārgaṃ bhrātṝṇāmeva māriṣa //

Having said this much, Nārada of unfailing vision departed; / and they too followed the very path of their brothers, O noble one.

32. Having spoken to them only these words, Narada, of true wisdom, went away; and they too, O noble king, trod only the foot-steps of their brothers.

6.5.33

sadhrīcīnaṃ pratīcīnaṃ parasyānupathaṃ gatāḥ /
nādyāpi te nivartante paścimā yāminīriva //

They departed along the path leading directly inward to the Supreme; / even to this day they do not return, like nights that have passed.

33. Having taken to the praiseworthy and agreeable path of devotion, of withdrawing from the world, they do not even to this day return like the nights that have passed (from their course).

6.5.34

etasmin kāla utpātān bahūn paśyan prajāpatiḥ /
pūrvavan nāradakṛtaṃ putranāśamupāśṛṇot //

At that time, seeing many evil omens, the Prajāpati / heard of the loss of his sons, caused as before by Nārada.

34. On a certain occasion Daksha the Prajapati noticed very many portents and heard as before of Narada's spoiling his sons.

6.5.35

cukrodha nāradāyāsau putraśokavimūrcchitaḥ /
devarṣimupalabhyāha roṣādvisphuritādharaḥ //

He became furious with Nārada, fainting in sorrow for his sons; / finding the celestial sage, his lower lip trembling with rage, he spoke:

35. Enraged at Narada, and overpowered with grief for his sons, he met the divine sage and spoke to him, his lips quivering with rage.

6.5.36

/0 śrīdakṣa uvāca
aho asādho sādhūnāṃ sādhuliṅgena nastvayā /
asādhvakāry arbhakāṇāṃ bhikṣormārgaḥ pradarśitaḥ //

Śrī Dakṣa said: / Ah, you wicked man disguised as the virtuous! An unrighteous deed / you have done to us, showing our boys the mendicant’s path!

36. Daksha said:— Ah! O unrighteous one, in the guise of a righteous one, thou hast shown the path of the ascetics to our sons and thereby done wrong to them.

6.5.37

ṛṇaistribhiramuktānāmamīmāṃsitakarmaṇām /
vighātaḥ śreyasaḥ pāpa lokayorubhayoḥ kṛtaḥ //

To those not yet freed from the three debts, who have not reflected on rites, / you have done harm, O sinner, impeding their welfare in both worlds.

37. O sinful one, thou hast spoiled their welfare in both the worlds, when they have not (as yet) discharged their three-fold debt (Rishis, Devas, and Pitris) and have not investigated into the course of Karma, righteous as we are.

6.5.38

evaṃ tvaṃ niranukrośo bālānāṃ matibhiddhareḥ /
pārṣadamadhye carasi yaśohā nirapatrapaḥ //

Thus pitiless, corrupting the minds of boys, / you roam shameless among Hari's attendants, destroying His renown.

38. Thus thou hast been merciless in corrupting the mind of young men; though thou hast acted against the glorious name of Hari, thou art shamelessly moving in the midst of His attendants.

6.5.39

nanu bhāgavatā nityaṃ bhūtānugrahakātarāḥ /
ṛte tvāṃ sauhṛdaghnaṃ vai vairaṅkaramavairiṇām //

Indeed, Bhāgavatas are ever anxious to show mercy to living beings; / you alone are excepted, a destroyer of friendship who creates enmity among the non-envious.

39. Undoubtedly the devotees of Hari are always eager to be kind to beings except thyself, who art busy in destroying friendship and love and in creating enmity between those who are not enemies.

6.5.40

netthaṃ puṃsāṃ virāgaḥ syāt tvayā kevalinā mṛṣā /
manyase yady upaśamaṃ snehapāśanikṛntanam //

Dispassion does not arise in men in this way; you, an isolated ascetic, falsely / imagine that tranquility is the cutting of affection's bonds.

40. Renunciation cannot be thus produced in (the mind of) men by thee who puttest on the guise of an Avadhuta without true wisdom, though thou supposest that mere formal calmness is sufficient to cut off the cord of affection (attachment).

6.5.41

nānubhūya na jānāti pumān viṣayatīkṣṇatām /
nirvidyate svayaṃ tasmān na tathā bhinnadhīḥ paraiḥ //

Without experiencing them, a man does not realize the harshness of sense objects; / one becomes detached on one's own, not so when one's intellect is subverted by others.

41. Without actual experience a person cannot realise the intensely evil character of the (worldly) objects; only through such experience one might have the (real) feeling of renunciation, but not when the mind is changed by others.

6.5.42

yan nastvaṃ karmasandhānāṃ sādhūnāṃ gṛhamedhinām /
kṛtavān asi durmarṣaṃ vipriyaṃ tava marṣitam //

Though you did an unbearable wrong to us, / virtuous householders committed to ritual duties, it was forgiven you.

42. We have quietly put up with whatever unbearable mischief thou hast done to us who are righteous householders and respect the limits of duty.

6.5.43

tantukṛntana yan nastvamabhadramacaraḥ punaḥ /
tasmāl lokeṣu te mūḍha na bhavedbhramataḥ padam //

Severer of lineages, because you have again done us harm, / therefore, you fool, as you wander the worlds, there shall be no resting place for you!

43. But, O destroyer of our dynasty, since thou hast done wrong to us, O ignorant one, mayest thou not find a home as thou wanderest about (the world)!.

6.5.44

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
pratijagrāha tadbāḍhaṃ nāradaḥ sādhusammataḥ /
etāvān sādhuvādo hi titikṣeteśvaraḥ svayam //

Śrī Śuka said: / Nārada, revered by the virtuous, accepted that, saying: 'So be it!' / Such indeed is the behavior of the virtuous: capable though he was, he endured it himself.

44. Sri Suka said:— Narada, most esteemed of the righteous, accepted that curse saying "very well". One can be spoken of as a Sadhu only when, himself able (to curse in return), he patiently submits to it (without retaliating).