Bhagavatapurana 7.13: atha trayodaśo'dhyāyaḥ

7.13.1

/0 śrīnārada uvāca
kalpastvevaṃ parivrajya dehamātrāvaśeṣitaḥ /
grāmaikarātravidhinā nirapekṣaścaren mahīm //

Śrī Nārada said: / Renouncing thus, if capable, with only the physical body remaining, / indifferent to external things, he should wander the earth according to the rule of spending only one night in a village.

1. Narada said:— But one fit for it should become an ascetic, have nothing but his own body to own, observe the rule of staying but one night in any village, having no desire (to achieve);

7.13.2

bibhṛyādyadyasau vāsaḥ kaupīnācchādanaṃ param /
tyaktaṃ na liṅgāddaṇḍāderanyat kiñcidanāpadi //

If he wears a garment, it should be merely a loincloth to cover himself; / in the absence of distress, nothing should be kept except the emblems, such as the staff, abandoned [by worldly people].

2. If at all, he should wear no clothing but a piece (of cloth) to cover his shame and except in serious danger he should not resume anything once renounced other than his staff and other characteristics of an ascetic.

7.13.3

eka eva caredbhikṣurātmārāmo 'napāśrayaḥ /
sarvabhūtasuhṛcchānto nārāyaṇaparāyaṇaḥ //

The mendicant should wander all alone, delighting in the self, free from dependence, / a friend to all beings, peaceful, devoted wholly to Nārāyaṇa.

3. Alone he should go about accepting only alms, finding delight in his own self, unsheltered, friend to all beings and devoted wholly to Narayana with a serene mind.

7.13.4

paśyedātmanyado viśvaṃ pare sadasato 'vyaye /
ātmānaṃ ca paraṃ brahma sarvatra sadasanmaye //

He should see this universe in the self, in the supreme, imperishable beyond being and non-being, / and see the self, the supreme Brahman, everywhere within that which consists of being and non-being.

4. He should see all this Universe to be in Atman who is distinct from causes and consequences and not subject to decay and see Atman the Perfect Brahman (to be present) in all that are in the form of causes and consequences.

7.13.5

suptiprabodhayoḥ sandhāvātmano gatimātmadṛk /
paśyan bandhaṃ ca mokṣaṃ ca māyāmātraṃ na vastutaḥ //

Beholding the state of the self at the junction of sleep and waking, the seer of the self / sees both bondage and liberation as mere creative power, not real in fact.

5. At the point of passing from sleep to wakefulness (or vice versa) one should try to observe the true nature of Atman and thereby see that bondage and release are but illusory and not real.

7.13.6

nābhinandeddhruvaṃ mṛtyumadhruvaṃ vāsya jīvitam /
kālaṃ paraṃ pratīkṣeta bhūtānāṃ prabhavāpyayam //

He should not welcome certain death, nor his uncertain life; / he should merely await time, which causes the origin and dissolution of all beings.

6. He should not have a welcome view of the inevitable death or of the fickle life; but he should only look forward to Time which brings about the birth or death of beings.

7.13.7

nāsacchāstreṣu sajjeta nopajīveta jīvikām /
vādavādāṃstyajet tarkān pakṣaṃ kaṃca na saṃśrayet //

He should not take interest in false scriptures, nor rely on a livelihood; / he should abandon debate and vain argumentation, and not adhere to any faction.

7. He should not give his mind to bad sastras (treating of subjects other than Atman) or betake himself to any trade in life, should avoid disputations, should not subscribe himself to one particular system of thought.

7.13.8

na śiṣyān anubadhnīta granthān naivābhyasedbahūn /
na vyākhyāmupayuñjīta nārambhān ārabhet kvacit //

He should not attach disciples to himself, nor study many books; / he should not take up lecturing, nor undertake new enterprises anywhere.

8. He should not attach pupils to himself or study many books; should not take to expounding the sacred lore or endeavour to establish anywhere monastaries and other institutions (or to raise edifices).

7.13.9

na yaterāśramaḥ prāyo dharmaheturmahātmanaḥ /
śāntasya samacittasya bibhṛyāduta vā tyajet //

For the great-souled ascetic who is peaceful and even-minded, / an external stage of life is generally not the cause of dharma; he may maintain it or abandon it.

9. The life of an ascetic who has become a mahatman with tranquil and unperturbed mind (i.e., attained full wisdom) is not generally meant for acquiring righteous merit; when wisdom is attained, he may continue to practise or abandon (the means adapted for its attainment).

7.13.10

avyaktaliṅgo vyaktārtho manīṣyunmattabālavat /
kavirmūkavadātmānaṃ sa dṛṣṭyā darśayen nṛṇām //

With hidden emblems though his purpose is clear, a wise man appearing like a madman or child, / a sage appearing like a mute, he should show himself to men by his outward aspect.

10. He who has realised his purpose and is full of wisdom should not show by any sign his true character and must behave like a mad boy (or man); though learned he should show himself like a dumb creature in the sight of men.

7.13.11

atrāpyudāharantīmamitihāsaṃ purātanam /
prahrādasya ca saṃvādaṃ munerājagarasya ca //

In this connection, they cite this ancient historical account, / the conversation between Prahrāda and the sage who adopted the way of the python.

11. On this very point, an old historical account is handed down in illustration; it is a conversation between Prahlada and a

sage observing the Ajagara vow.

7.13.12

taṃ śayānaṃ dharopasthe kāveryāṃ sahyasānuni /
rajasvalaistanūdeśairnigūḍhāmalatejasam //

Lying upon the lap of the earth on the slopes of the Sahya mountain by the Kāverī, / his pure splendor concealed by body parts covered with dust,

12. & 13. Prahlada beloved of Hari went about the world with a few ministers in order to study its true nature (of people at large) and saw some one lying on the bare ground on a cliff of the Sahya mountains at the source of the Kaveri, whose pure brilliancy (glory) was concealed in his limbs thickly covered with dust.

7.13.13

dadarśa lokān vicaran lokatattvavivitsayā /
vṛto 'mātyaiḥ katipayaiḥ prahrādo bhagavatpriyaḥ //

wandering through the worlds desiring to know the truth of worldly life, / Prahrāda, beloved of the Lord, accompanied by a few ministers, beheld him.

7.13.14

karmaṇākṛtibhirvācā liṅgairvarṇāśramādibhiḥ /
na vidanti janā yaṃ vai so 'sāviti na veti ca //

By his actions, physical appearance, speech, emblems, caste, stage of life, and the like, / people could not know whether he was indeed that person or not.

14. People did not know who he was or what he was and what not, by his deeds, by appearances, by words, by any special signs pertaining to the particular caste and order.

7.13.15

taṃ natvābhyarcya vidhivat pādayoḥ śirasā spṛśan /
vivitsuridamaprākṣīn mahābhāgavato 'suraḥ //

Bowing down to him and honoring him according to rule, touching his feet with his head, / the Asura, an exalted devotee of the Lord, wishing to know, asked him this:

15. Prahlada, the great devotee of the Almighty Lord, bowed to him, duly worshipped him touching his feet with his head and eager to know (the fact), put him the following question.

7.13.16

bibharṣi kāyaṃ pīvānaṃ sodyamo bhogavān yathā /
vittaṃ caivodyamavatāṃ bhogo vittavatāmiha /
bhogināṃ khalu deho 'yaṃ pīvā bhavati nānyathā //

You possess a stout body, like one who makes effort and enjoys pleasures; / in this world, wealth belongs to the industrious, and enjoyment belongs to the wealthy; / indeed, the body of pleasure-seekers becomes stout, and not otherwise.

16. Thou hast a stout body like a person who exerts himself and has every comfort; wealth or means can be had only by those that exert themselves, and comfort is the lot of those that have enough of means; and indeed only those who have all comforts have a stout and well-developed body, but not otherwise.

7.13.17

na te śayānasya nirudyamasya brahman nu hārtho yata eva bhogaḥ /
abhogino 'yaṃ tava vipra dehaḥ pīvā yatastadvada naḥ kṣamaṃ cet //

For you who lie here inactive, O brāhmaṇa, there is surely no wealth from which enjoyment arises; / since you do not enjoy, O brāhmaṇa, tell us why your body is stout, if it is appropriate.

17. Certainly and evidently thou art lying perfectly idle, O sage, dost not own any wealth or property, through which alone comforts can be had; pray tell us if it is fit to be told us how, O sage, thou without any comforts hast a stout and strong body.

7.13.18

kaviḥ kalpo nipuṇadṛk citrapriyakathaḥ samaḥ /
lokasya kurvataḥ karma śeṣe tadvīkṣitāpi vā //

You are wise, capable, possessed of discerning vision, speaking varied and pleasant words, and even-minded; / while the world performs action, you lie watching it or [unconcerned].

18. Thou art learned, capable of exertion, endowed with a keen eye and with a power of speech wonderful and sweet, and impartial; and whilst the rest of the world is working hard, thou liest down or simply lookest on it.

7.13.19

/0 śrīnārada uvāca
sa itthaṃ daityapatinā paripṛṣṭo mahāmuniḥ /
smayamānastamabhyāha tadvāgamṛtayantritaḥ //

Śrī Nārada said: / Thus questioned by the lord of the Daityas, that great sage, / smiling, spoke to him, restrained by the nectar of his speech.

19. Narada said:— Thus enquired by the Lord of Daityas, that great sage, impelled by his nectar-like speech, smilingly said to him:—

7.13.20

/0 śrībrāhmaṇa uvāca
vededamasuraśreṣṭha bhavān nanvāryasammataḥ /
īhoparamayornṝṇāṃ padānyadhyātmacakṣuṣā //

The brāhmaṇa said:
O best of Asuras, you who are esteemed by the noble certainly know this: / the states of humans in exertion and cessation, through the eye of spiritual knowledge.

20. Brahmana said:— O foremost Asura, thou knowest this and thou art indeed beloved of all the great and by thy inner eye thou knowest the occasion for, and the objects of, men's act or omission.

7.13.21

yasya nārāyaṇo devo bhagavān hṛdgataḥ sadā /
bhaktyā kevalayājñānaṃ dhunoti dhvāntamarkavat //

You within whose heart the Lord, the divine Nārāyaṇa, ever abides, / who by unalloyed devotion dispels ignorance just as the sun dispels darkness.

21. He, who has always in his heart the glorious Narayana, is able, like the sun that dispels external darkness, to shake off ignorance by virtue of his pure and absolute devotion.

7.13.22

tathāpi brūmahe praśnāṃstava rājan yathāśrutam /
sambhāṣaṇīyo hi bhavān ātmanaḥ śuddhimicchatā //

Nevertheless, O king, we shall reply to your questions according to what we have heard, / for you are worthy of conversation by one who desires purity of self.

22. Still, O king, we shall answer thy questions as we have studied them, for thou art worthy of being esteemed by those who seek after the purification of their own self.

7.13.23

tṛṣṇayā bhavavāhinyā yogyaiḥ kāmairapūryayā /
karmāṇi kāryamāṇo 'haṃ nānāyoniṣu yojitaḥ //

Driven to perform actions by thirst [for pleasure], which flows through existence and cannot be satisfied even by suitable desires, / I was joined to diverse wombs.

23. By the powerful Desire, the constant source of the stream of Samsara, not possible to be satisfied with the enjoyment of proper objects, I was impelled to do many actions and was consequently driven into various bodies (born as different creatures).

7.13.24

yadṛcchayā lokamimaṃ prāpitaḥ karmabhirbhraman /
svargāpavargayordvāraṃ tiraścāṃ punarasya ca //

Wandering through my actions, I was brought by chance into this human world, / which is the gateway to heaven and liberation, as well as to the subhuman states and to this world again.

24. By the same force of desire, under the direction of Providence, brought down to this human life, I have been wandering as impelled by Karma, this human life being a way on the one hand to Swarga and Moksha and on the other, to the brute life or human life again.

7.13.25

tatrāpi dampatīnāṃ ca sukhāyānyāpanuttaye /
karmāṇi kurvatāṃ dṛṣṭvā nivṛtto 'smi viparyayam //

Even there, seeing married couples performing actions for pleasure / and to avert sorrow met with the opposite result, I have ceased.

25. Even here having observed the failure of those living in married life and working hard for pleasure and avoidance of pain, I turned away from it.

7.13.26

sukhamasyātmano rūpaṃ sarvehoparatistanuḥ /
manaḥsaṃsparśajān dṛṣṭvā bhogān svapsyāmi saṃviśan //

Happiness is the essential nature of this self, and cessation of all striving is its body; / seeing that pleasures arise from contact with the mind, I lie down and sleep.

26. Happiness is the very essence of Atman (intelligent being) and the fact is discovered when all activities are cut off; and having realised that all experiences, the result of fancies in the mind, are transient, I am lying quiet.

7.13.27

ityetadātmanaḥ svārthaṃ santaṃ vismṛtya vai pumān /
vicitrāmasati dvaite ghorāmāpnoti saṃsṛtim //

Forgetting this true good that resides within oneself, / a person enters into terrible and varied transmigration in unreal duality.

27. Having indeed forgotten this fact that what he is in quest of is in himself and having entered the unreal field of duality, man falls into the horrible and wonderful Samsara.

7.13.28

jalaṃ tadudbhavaiśchannaṃ hitvājño jalakāmyayā /
mṛgatṛṣṇāmupādhāvet tathānyatrārthadṛk svataḥ //

Just as a fool, desiring water, abandons water covered by aquatic plants / and runs after a mirage, so does one who seeks his good elsewhere than in himself.

28. He, who thinks of finding his purpose outside himself, is

comparable to that person who, longing for water, runs towards Mirage, leaving the water (near) concealed by its own out-growth.

7.13.29

dehādibhirdaivatantrairātmanaḥ sukhamīhataḥ /
duḥkhātyayaṃ cānīśasya kriyā moghāḥ kṛtāḥ kṛtāḥ //

For the powerless person seeking his own happiness through the body and other things subject to fate, / and seeking an end to sorrow, actions performed again and again prove useless.

29. All the acts and endeavours go to waste of that man who hopes and tries to find his happiness as well as the termination of misery by means of the body and other circumstances under the control of Providence and does not acknowledge the Supreme Being.

7.13.30

ādhyātmikādibhirduḥkhairavimuktasya karhicit /
martyasya kṛcchropanatairarthaiḥ kāmaiḥ kriyeta kim //

For a mortal never freed from bodily and other sorrows, / what could be accomplished by wealth and desires obtained with great distress?

30. What satisfaction could be brought by the objects of desire and pleasures purchased with great effort, to the mortal who is not at all free from the three kinds of miseries, viz. Adhyatmika and Adhidaivika and Adhibhautika.

7.13.31

paśyāmi dhanināṃ kleśaṃ lubdhānāmajitātmanām /
bhayādalabdhanidrāṇāṃ sarvato 'bhiviśaṅkinām //

I observe the suffering of the rich—greedy men lacking self-control, / sleepless from fear, suspicious on all sides.

31. I see the pains suffered by the rich who are greedy, have no control over their mind, have no sleep through fear and (only) suspect danger in every direction.

7.13.32

rājataścaurataḥ śatroḥ svajanāt paśupakṣitaḥ /
arthibhyaḥ kālataḥ svasmān nityaṃ prāṇārthavadbhayam //

From kings, from thieves, from enemies, from kinsmen, from beasts and birds, / from supplicants, from time, and from oneself, there is constant fear for those who hold life and wealth dear.

32. I see how those, that have life and wealth, expect every moment fear from the king, the thief, the enemy, his kith and kin, birds and beasts, from mendicants, Time (Yama or death) or his own self.

7.13.33

śokamohabhayakrodha rāgaklaibyaśramādayaḥ /
yanmūlāḥ syurnṛṇāṃ jahyāt spṛhāṃ prāṇārthayorbudhaḥ //

Grief, delusion, fear, anger, passion, despondency, and fatigue / take root in these; a wise person should therefore abandon longing for life and wealth.

33. Therefore the wise man should eschew his longing for both life and wealth, which form the source of grief, delusion, fear, anger, love, despondency, pain and other states of men.

7.13.34

madhukāramahāsarpau loke 'smin no gurūttamau /
vairāgyaṃ paritoṣaṃ ca prāptā yacchikṣayā vayam //

In this world, the honeybee and the great python are our best teachers; / by their instruction we have attained dispassion and contentment.

34. The bee and the great serpent are the two great preceptors in this world and by their example we have gained this spirit of renunciation and contentedness.

7.13.35

virāgaḥ sarvakāmebhyaḥ śikṣito me madhuvratāt /
kṛcchrāptaṃ madhuvadvittaṃ hatvāpyanyo haret patim //

Disaffection with all desires was learned by me from the honeybee: / like honey, the wealth obtained with hardship is seized by another, who kills its master.

35. I have learnt renunciation of all desires from the honey-gatherer; for, another may kill the lord like the bee and carry away the wealth that is got with great pains.

7.13.36

anīhaḥ parituṣṭātmā yadṛcchopanatādaham /
no cec chaye bahvahāni mahāhiriva sattvavān //

Free from striving, content in mind with whatever comes by chance, / or else I lie for many days like a powerful great serpent.

36. Having desisted from all activity, I am contented with what I get by chance; if I do not get anything I lie down like the great serpent with an undaunted mind in my own strength for many days.

7.13.37

kvacidalpaṃ kvacidbhūri bhuñje 'nnaṃ svādvasvādu vā /
kvacidbhūri guṇopetaṃ guṇahīnamuta kvacit //

Sometimes I eat little, sometimes much, food that is delicious or unpalatable, / sometimes endowed with excellent qualities, and at other times devoid of quality;

37. Sometime I eat very little; sometime a large quantity of food, whether tasteful or distasteful (good or bad); sometimes highly dainty dishes, sometime very poor meal.

7.13.38

śraddhayopahṛtaṃ kvāpi kadācin mānavarjitam /
bhuñje bhuktvātha kasmiṃściddivā naktaṃ yadṛcchayā //

Offered with faith at one time, and at another time devoid of respect; / I eat by chance by day or by night, after having eaten [long before].

38. Sometime what is brought with good faith and devotion (with sincere feelings of kindness); sometime what is given without

due respect, or even disrespectfully; sometime I eat again after having once eaten; sometime by chance I eat both day and night.

7.13.39

kṣaumaṃ dukūlamajinaṃ cīraṃ valkalameva vā /
vase 'nyadapi samprāptaṃ diṣṭabhuk tuṣṭadhīraham //

Linen, fine silk, deerskin, rags, or tree bark— / I wear whatever else is obtained, content in mind, enjoying what fate brings.

39. Sometime I wear linen cloth or silks or deer skin or rags or barks of trees or whatever else that comes within my reach; I enjoy what is ordained by Providence with a contented mind.

7.13.40

kvacic chaye dharopasthe tṛṇaparṇāśmabhasmasu /
kvacit prāsādaparyaṅke kaśipau vā parecchayā //

Sometimes I sleep on the surface of the earth, on grass, leaves, stones, or ashes; / sometimes in a palace upon a bed or a couch, by the wish of another.

40. Somewhere I sleep on the bare ground and sometime on grass or leaves or stones or in ashes; sometime on a fine bed stuff, on a cot, in a palace as the Lord wills.

7.13.41

kvacit snāto 'nuliptāṅgaḥ suvāsāḥ sragvyalaṅkṛtaḥ /
rathebhāśvaiścare kvāpi digvāsā grahavadvibho //

Sometimes bathed, my limbs anointed, well dressed, adorned with garlands, / riding on chariots, elephants, or horses; at other times I wander naked like one possessed, O lord.

41. Sometimes I bathe and have my body covered with pigments, wear good clothes, garlands and ornaments; sometime I ride in cars, on elephants and horses; and sometime I am sky-clad like a spirit.

7.13.42

nāhaṃ ninde na ca staumi svabhāvaviṣamaṃ janam /
eteṣāṃ śreya āśāse utaikātmyaṃ mahātmani //

I neither blame nor praise people whose natures are uneven; / I pray for their highest good and their oneness in the Supreme Self.

42. I do not censure or praise the people who are crooked by nature; I only pray for their welfare and final beatitude, being absorbed into Paramatman (Vishnu).

7.13.43

vikalpaṃ juhuyāc cittau tāṃ manasyarthavibhrame /
mano vaikārike hutvā taṃ māyāyāṃ juhotyanu //

One should offer mental distinction into speech, that into the mind confused by objects, / the mind into the ego, and that into the creative power.

43. He should offer as an oblation the notion of difference into the faculty that grasps it and that faculty into the mind that takes unreal things for real things and that mind into the Vaikarika (Satvika) Ahankara and that Ahankara he should regularly offer into Maya through Mahattatva.

7.13.44

ātmānubhūtau tāṃ māyāṃ juhuyāt satyadṛṅ muniḥ /
tato nirīho viramet svānubhūtyātmani sthitaḥ //

The sage, seeing the truth, should offer that creative power into the direct experience of the self; / then, free from striving, he should rest, established in the self through his own realization.

44. And that Maya into the self-realisation of Atman. Thus, having a perception and thereby become free from activities and firmly fixed in Atman of self-realisation, the sage should cease to have anything to do.

7.13.45

svātmavṛttaṃ mayetthaṃ te suguptamapi varṇitam /
vyapetaṃ lokaśāstrābhyāṃ bhavān hi bhagavatparaḥ //

Thus has the conduct of my own self been described to you, though deeply hidden / and departing from worldly custom and scripture; for you are devoted to the Lord.

45. I have thus explained to thee my own life, though kept very secret, which is far different from the range of the world and Sastra (in the view of the ignorant); for, thou art highly devoted to the Supreme Lord.

7.13.46

/0 śrīnārada uvāca
dharmaṃ pāramahaṃsyaṃ vai muneḥ śrutvāsureśvaraḥ /
pūjayitvā tataḥ prīta āmantrya prayayau gṛham //

Śrī Nārada said:
Having heard from the sage the dharma of the state of the supreme ascetic, the lord of the Asuras, / delighted, worshiped him, took leave of him, and went home.

46. Narada said:— Thus the lord of Asuras listened to an account of the Paramahamsa course given by the sage and honoured him and, very much rejoiced at it, went home with his leave.