Bhagavatapurana 8.16: atha ṣoḍaśo'dhyāyaḥ

8.16.1

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
evaṃ putreṣu naṣṭeṣu devamātāditistadā /
hṛte triviṣṭape daityaiḥ paryatapyadanāthavat //

Śrī Śuka said: / When her sons had thus vanished and the threefold heaven had been seized by the Daityas, / Aditi, the mother of the gods, grieved bitterly like one destitute of a protector.

1. Sri Suka said:—When thus her sons disappeared and Swarga was usurped by Diti's sons, Aditi, mother of the gods, was very much afflicted like a helpless creature.

8.16.2

ekadā kaśyapastasyā āśramaṃ bhagavān agāt /
nirutsavaṃ nirānandaṃ samādhervirataścirāt //

Once, the venerable Kaśyapa, after a long time having ceased from meditation, / arrived at her hermitage, which was devoid of festivities and joyless.

2. On a certain occasion Kasyapa, having risen from a long period of meditation came to the hermitage of Aditi which was cheerless and joyless.

8.16.3

sa patnīṃ dīnavadanāṃ kṛtāsanaparigrahaḥ /
sabhājito yathānyāyamidamāha kurūdvaha //

Having accepted a seat and been honored according to rule, / he addressed his wife, whose face was miserable, in this manner, O best of the Kurus:

3. Revered according to rules and having taken his seat, O best of Kurus, the sage spoke thus to his wife of cheerless face.

8.16.4

apy abhadraṃ na viprāṇāṃ bhadre loke 'dhunāgatam /
na dharmasya na lokasya mṛtyośchandānuvartinaḥ //

"Has no misfortune befallen the brāhmaṇas nowadays, O blessed lady, / nor dharma, nor the world of living beings that must follow death's command?

4. O beloved one, I hope nothing wrong has now befallen Brahmins or the cow in the world, or Dharma, or the creatures that are always in the hands of Death (at the mercy of Death).

8.16.5

api vākuśalaṃ kiñcidgṛheṣu gṛhamedhini /
dharmasyārthasya kāmasya yatra yogo hy ayoginām //

Or is there any trouble in the household, O housewife, / wherein lies the achievement of dharma, wealth, and desire even for the un-yogic?

5. O housewife, has anything antagonistic to Dharma, Artha or Kama, occurred in the house, where Ayogins succeed in acquiring the fruits of their yoga by means of their own duties?

8.16.6

api vātithayo 'bhyetya kuṭumbāsaktayā tvayā /
gṛhādapūjitā yātāḥ pratyutthānena vā kvacit //

Could it be that guests arrived and departed unhonored from the house, / not greeted even by standing up, because you were engrossed in family matters?

6. Or have any guests that came in went away for want of thy attentions, even by thy going forth to meet them and the like, whilst thou wast engrossed in the household duties?

8.16.7

gṛheṣu yeṣvatithayo nārcitāḥ salilairapi /
yadi niryānti te nūnaṃ pherurājagṛhopamāḥ //

The households in which guests are not honored even with water, / should they depart, are indeed like the dens of jackals.

7. Those houses whence guests return without being worshipped at least with water, are like the holes tenanted by big jackals.

8.16.8

apy agnayastu velāyāṃ na hutā haviṣā sati /
tvayodvignadhiyā bhadre proṣite mayi karhicit //

Or were the sacrificial fires not offered their oblation at the proper time, O chaste lady, / because your mind was troubled while I was away from home, my good woman?

8. Were not the sacred fires fed in proper time with offerings, O chaste lady, O dear one, by thee oppressed with anxiety during my absence?

8.16.9

yatpūjayā kāmadughān yāti lokān gṛhānvitaḥ /
brāhmaṇo 'gniśca vai viṣṇoḥ sarvadevātmano mukham //

By honoring whom the householder attains worlds that yield every desire; / for both the brāhmaṇa and the fire are the mouth of Viṣṇu, the soul of all gods.

9. The Brahmin and Agni by whose worship the householder attains to regions yielding all pleasures, are really the mouth of Vishnu, who is the Atman of all the gods.

8.16.10

api sarve kuśalinastava putrā manasvini /
lakṣaye 'svasthamātmānaṃ bhavatyā lakṣaṇairaham //

Are all your sons well, O thoughtful lady? / For from your demeanor I perceive an uneasiness in your mind."

10. O thoughtful one, are all your sons prosperous? I perceive through thy features that thy heart is uneasy.

8.16.11

/0 śrīaditiruvāca
bhadraṃ dvijagavāṃ brahman dharmasyāsya janasya ca /
trivargasya paraṃ kṣetraṃ gṛhamedhin gṛhā ime //

Śrī Aditi said: / "All is well with the twice-born and the cows, O brāhmaṇa, with dharma, and with these people; / this home of a householder is the supreme field for the three ends of life.

11. Aditi said:—O holy one, happy are the Brahmins and cows, uninjured is righteousness and so am I; this house is, O householder, the best field for all the three purposes (of existence).

8.16.12

agnayo 'tithayo bhṛtyā bhikṣavo ye ca lipsavaḥ /
sarvaṃ bhagavato brahmannanudhyānān na riṣyati //

The fires, the guests, the servants, the mendicants, and whoever else seeks gifts— / through the remembrance of your reverend self, O brāhmaṇa, nothing comes to ruin.

12. Sacred fires, guests, servants, ascetics, and also mendicants, --none, O holy one, suffers by virtue of thy devout contemplation for the good of all.

8.16.13

ko nu me bhagavan kāmo na sampadyeta mānasaḥ /
yasyā bhavān prajādhyakṣa evaṃ dharmān prabhāṣate //

What desire of my heart could fail to be fulfilled, O lord, / for me whose master of beings expounds dharma in this manner?

13. What wish of mine, O worshipful one, in the inmost recesses of my heart could not be achieved while thou art my lord watching the welfare of my children and always enquirest about righteous duties.

8.16.14

tavaiva mārīca manaḥśarīrajāḥ prajā imāḥ sattvarajastamojuṣaḥ /
samo bhavāṃstāsvasurādiṣu prabho tathāpi bhaktaṃ bhajate maheśvaraḥ //

O son of Marīci, born of your own mind and body are these living beings, indulging in purity, passion, and darkness; / you are impartial toward them—toward the asuras and the rest, O lord—and yet the supreme lord favors the devotee.

14. O son of Marīchi, indeed born of thy mind and body are all these peoples, characterised severally by Satva, Rajas or Tamas; O lord, thou art equal to them all, Asura and others; still the supreme Lord helps His votary.

8.16.15

tasmādīśa bhajantyā me śreyaścintaya suvrata /
hṛtaśriyo hṛtasthānān sapatnaiḥ pāhi naḥ prabho //

Therefore, O master, consider the welfare of me, who am devoted to you, O you of noble vows; / protect us, O lord, who have had our splendor and our stations stripped away by our rivals.

15. Therefore, O powerful lord, O one of good austerities, be pleased to consider what is good to me who am serving thee; O lord, be pleased to protect us who are deprived of our fortune and place by our enemies.

8.16.16

parairvivāsitā sāhaṃ magnā vyasanasāgare /
aiśvaryaṃ śrīryaśaḥ sthānaṃ hṛtāni prabalairmama //

Exiled by our enemies, I have sunk into an ocean of misery; / our sovereignty, our prosperity, our fame, and our abode have been seized by the powerful.

16 & 17. Exiled by enemies I am immersed in the sea of grief; my wealth, splendour, glory, place, are all robbed by the powerful enemies, O foremost one among those that look after our welfare, be pleased to do us good by thinking out such effective ways as enable my sons, O righteous one, to recover them.

8.16.17

yathā tāni punaḥ sādho prapadyeran mamātmajāḥ /
tathā vidhehi kalyāṇaṃ dhiyā kalyāṇakṛttama //

In such a way that my sons may regain them, O righteous one, / devise good fortune through your intellect, O greatest maker of blessings!"

8.16.18

/0 śrīśuka uvāca
evamabhyarthito 'dityā kastāmāha smayanniva /
aho māyābalaṃ viṣṇoḥ snehabaddhamidaṃ jagat //

Śrī Śuka said: / Being thus petitioned by Aditi, Kaśyapa spoke to her, as if smiling: / "Ah, the power of Viṣṇu's creative power, by which this whole world is bound in attachment!

18. Sri Suka said:— Thus prayed to by Aditi, Kasyapa smilingly said to her, O how powerful is Vishnu's Maya! The world is bound in affection.

8.16.19

kva deho bhautiko 'nātmā kva cātmā prakṛteḥ paraḥ /
kasya ke patiputrādyā moha eva hi kāraṇam //

Where is the material body, which is not the self, and where is the self beyond primordial nature? / Who is whose husband, sons, and the like? Delusion alone is the cause.

19. What connection is there between the dull material body and Atman distinct from Prakriti, whose and who the husband, children and others are? mere delusion is the cause of all this notion.

8.16.20

upatiṣṭhasva puruṣaṃ bhagavantaṃ janārdanam /
sarvabhūtaguhāvāsaṃ vāsudevaṃ jagadgurum //

Worship the Supreme Person, the Lord Janārdana, / who dwells in the cave of all beings, Vāsudeva, the teacher of the universe.

20. Do thou worship the Perfect Person, the glorious Janardana, dwelling in the heart of all beings, the blissful Omnipresent Lord, and the Father of the Universe.

8.16.21

sa vidhāsyati te kāmān harirdīnānukampanaḥ /
amoghā bhagavadbhaktirnetareti matirmama //

Hari, compassionate toward the distressed, will grant your desires; / devotion to the Lord is never in vain—such is my conviction, and nothing else."

21. The glorious Hari, merciful to the afflicted, will grant thy wishes; fruitful is the devotion to the Lord and no other expedient is such; so do I think.

8.16.22

/0 śrīaditiruvāca
kenāhaṃ vidhinā brahmannupasthāsye jagatpatim /
yathā me satyasaṅkalpo vidadhyāt sa manoratham //

Śrī Aditi said: / "By what procedure, O brāhmaṇa, shall I worship the Lord of the universe, / so that he, whose resolve is unfailing, may fulfill my wish?

22. Aditi said:— O holy one, by what course may I worship the Lord of the world, that He of true thoughts may grant my wish.

8.16.23

ādiśa tvaṃ dvijaśreṣṭha vidhiṃ tadupadhāvanam /
āśu tuṣyati me devaḥ sīdantyāḥ saha putrakaiḥ //

Instruct me, O best of the twice-born, in the ritual for approaching him, / so that the Lord may swiftly be pleased with me, who am grieving along with my sons."

23. O foremost Brahmin, please instruct me in that course by which I should resort to Him and the blissful Lord may soon be pleased with me who am in grief along with my sons.

8.16.24

/0 śrīkaśyapa uvāca
etan me bhagavān pṛṣṭaḥ prajākāmasya padmajaḥ /
yadāha te pravakṣyāmi vrataṃ keśavatoṣaṇam //

Śrī Kaśyapa said: / "This was asked by me, when desiring offspring, of the venerable lotus-born Brahmā; / what he told me, I shall impart to you: the vow that propitiates Keśava.

24. Kasyapa said:— Of that course of worship by which Hari is propitiated, I shall tell thee, which the worshipful lotus-born (Brahma) taught me in this respect, when requested by me desirous of offspring.

8.16.25

phālgunasyāmale pakṣe dvādaśāhaṃ payovratam /
arcayedaravindākṣaṃ bhaktyā paramayānvitaḥ //

In the bright fortnight of the month of Phālguna, for twelve days, observing the milk-vow, / one should worship the lotus-eyed Lord, endowed with the highest devotion.

25. In the bright fortnight of the month of *Phalguna* one should practise *Payovrata* for twelve days and in intense devotion worship Pundareekaksha (Hari).

8.16.26

sinīvālyāṃ mṛdālipya snāyāt kroḍavidīrṇayā /
yadi labhyeta vai srotasy etaṃ mantramudīrayet //

On the new moon day, having smeared oneself with earth torn up by a boar /—if found in a flowing stream—one should recite this mantra:

26. During the hour of Sineevali one should besmear oneself with the earth, if any available, turned by the wild boar and bathe and, standing in a current of water, utter this mantra.

8.16.27

tvaṃ devy ādivarāheṇa rasāyāḥ sthānamicchatā /
uddhṛtāsi namastubhyaṃ pāpmānaṃ me praṇāśaya //

'O goddess, by the Primordial Boar desiring a place for the earth / you were lifted up; salutations to you! Destroy my sin!'

27. O Goddess, thou wast lifted up from Rasatala by Adi-Varaha who looked for a place. I bow to Thee, absolve me from sin.

8.16.28

nirvartitātmaniyamo devamarcet samāhitaḥ /
arcāyāṃ sthaṇḍile sūrye jale vahnau gurāvapi //

Having performed the observances incumbent on oneself, with a composed mind one should worship the deity / in an icon, on an altar, in the sun, in water, in fire, or in the spiritual teacher:

28. After finishing one’s daily duties one should worship the Lord with a calm and serene mind, either in an image or on purified ground, in the sun, water, fire, or even in the preceptor.

8.16.29

namastubhyaṃ bhagavate puruṣāya mahīyase /
sarvabhūtanivāsāya vāsudevāya sākṣiṇe //

'Salutations to you, the Lord, the supreme Person, / the dwelling of all beings, Vāsudeva, the witness!

29. Salutation to Thee, the glorious Person, most praiseworthy, Vasudeva, the abode of all beings, the one witness.

8.16.30

namo 'vyaktāya sūkṣmāya pradhānapuruṣāya ca /
caturviṃśadguṇajñāya guṇasaṅkhyānahetave //

Salutations to the unmanifest, to the subtle, and to the Person beyond nature, / to the knower of the twenty-four qualities, to the cause of the enumeration of the cosmic principles!

30. Salutation to Thee who art manifest, (unmanifest), subtle, Pradhana and Purusha, (matter and spirit), the knower of 24 attributes and the teacher of the Sankhya.

8.16.31

namo dviśīrṣṇe tripade catuḥśṛṅgāya tantave /
saptahastāya yajñāya trayīvidyātmane namaḥ //

Salutations to the two-headed, the three-footed, the four-horned, the warp of sacrifice, / the seven-handed, to the sacrifice itself, to the embodiment of the three Vedas—salutations!

31. Salutation to Thee that hast two heads, three feet, four

horns, the power of distributing fruits, seven hands, that art (in the form of) *yagna*, and the one described in (and knowable) through the Vedas.

8.16.32

namaḥ śivāya rudrāya namaḥ śaktidharāya ca /
sarvavidyādhipataye bhūtānāṃ pataye namaḥ //

Salutations to Śiva, to Rudra, and salutations to the wielder of cosmic power, / to the master of all knowledge, salutations to the lord of created beings!

32. Salutation to Thee that art Siva, Rudra; salutation to the wielder of Sakti, to the Lord of all kinds of lore and of all beings;

8.16.33

namo hiraṇyagarbhāya prāṇāya jagadātmane /
yogaiśvaryaśarīrāya namaste yogahetave //

Salutations to Hiraṇyagarbha, to the vital breath, to the Soul of the universe, / to him whose body is the sovereign power of yoga; salutations to you, the source of yoga!

33. Salutation to the Hiranyagarbha, to Prana, to the Atman of the universe; salutation to one who is an embodiment of the highest yoga powers and who is the source of all yoga (knowledge and practice).

8.16.34

namasta ādidevāya sākṣibhūtāya te namaḥ /
nārāyaṇāya ṛṣaye narāya haraye namaḥ //

Salutations to you, the primal deity; salutations to you, the witness; / to the sage Nārāyaṇa, to Nara, to Hari, salutations!

34. Salutation to Thee, the eternal God and the absolute witness; salutation to Narayana, the Rishi, and Nara who is Hari.

8.16.35

namo marakataśyāma vapuṣe 'dhigataśriye /
keśavāya namastubhyaṃ namaste pītavāsase //

Salutations to him whose body is dark as emerald, who has won the goddess of fortune, / to Keśava—salutations to you; salutations to you clothed in yellow garments!

35. Salutation to Thee whose person is like the emerald in hue, and whom Lakshmi has sought; salutation to Thee who art Kesava, and salutation to the one that wears *Pitambara*.

8.16.36

tvaṃ sarvavaradaḥ puṃsāṃ vareṇya varadarṣabha /
ataste śreyase dhīrāḥ pādareṇumupāsate //

You are the giver of all boons to human beings, the most worthy of choice, the best of boon-givers; / therefore the wise worship the dust of your feet for their highest good.

36. Thou conferest all boons on men, O most charming Lord, O Lord of the lords that grant boons; therefore wise men worship and contemplate the dust on Thy feet for their welfare.

8.16.37

anvavartanta yaṃ devāḥ śrīśca tatpādapadmayoḥ /
spṛhayanta ivāmodaṃ bhagavān me prasīdatām //

Whom the gods followed, and the goddess of fortune followed at the soles of his lotus feet / as if coveting their fragrance—may that Lord be gracious to me!'

37. May that glorious Lord be gracious unto me—the Lord whom the gods and Lakshmi worshipped as if they longed for the fragrance of His lotus-like feet.

8.16.38

etairmantrairhṛṣīkeśamāvāhanapuraskṛtam /
arcayec chraddhayā yuktaḥ pādyopasparśanādibhiḥ //

With these mantras, preceded by the ritual invocation, / endowed with faith, one should worship Hṛṣīkeśa with foot-washing water, sipping water, and the other offerings.

38. Having with these mantras performed the invocation and other preliminaries that person should worship Hari, the Ruler of the senses, with faith and with Padya, Achamana, and other attentions.

8.16.39

arcitvā gandhamālyādyaiḥ payasā snapayedvibhum /
vastropavītābharaṇa pādyopasparśanaistataḥ /
gandhadhūpādibhiścārceddvādaśākṣaravidyayā //

Having offered worship with fragrances, garlands, and the like, one should bathe the all-pervading Lord with milk; / then, with garments, the sacred thread, ornaments, foot-washing water, and sipping water, / and with perfumes, incense, and other offerings, one should worship him with the twelve-syllable mantra.

39. He should worship with sandal, flowers and other things and perform Abhisheka with milk; then again cloths, sacred thread,

ornaments, Padya and Achamana should be offered. Next frankincense should be burnt and lights offered with the mantra of twelve syllables.

8.16.40

śṛtaṃ payasi naivedyaṃ śālyannaṃ vibhave sati /
sasarpiḥ saguḍaṃ dattvā juhuyān mūlavidyayā //

Food offering consisting of rice cooked in milk, if wealth permits, / given together with clarified butter and jaggery, one should offer into the fire with the root mantra.

40. The best rice cooked with milk if there is enough wealth, mixed with butter, and sugar, should be offered and also poured into the fire by uttering the root mantra (of eight syllables).

8.16.41

niveditaṃ tadbhaktāya dadyādbhuñjīta vā svayam /
dattvācamanamarcitvā tāmbūlaṃ ca nivedayet //

What has been offered to the deity, one should give to his devotee or eat oneself; / having offered water for rinsing the mouth and shown reverent worship, one should also present betel.

41. The food thus offered to the Lord should be given to a devotee, or, he may himself eat of it. Having offered *Achamana* and performed *archana* he should offer betel-leaf.

8.16.42

japedaṣṭottaraśataṃ stuvīta stutibhiḥ prabhum /
kṛtvā pradakṣiṇaṃ bhūmau praṇameddaṇḍavan mudā //

One should repeat [the mantra] one hundred and eight times, praise the Lord with hymns of praise, / and having performed a clockwise circumambulation, prostrate oneself joyfully on the ground like a rod.

42. He should repeat the mantra (within his mind) one hundred and eight times and sing the praises of the Lord; he should go round and gladly prostrate himself on the ground like a rod.

8.16.43

kṛtvā śirasi taccheṣāṃ devamudvāsayet tataḥ /
dvyavarān bhojayedviprān pāyasena yathocitam //

Placing the remnants of the offering upon one's head, one should then dismiss the deity; / and one should feed at least two brāhmaṇas with milk-rice pudding according to the rules.

43. Having worn on his head the flowers and other things offered (to the Lord) he should then pray for the retirement thence of the Deity; Brahmins, at least two, must be properly fed (with food cooked) with milk.

8.16.44

bhuñjīta tairanujñātaḥ seṣṭaḥ śeṣaṃ sabhājitaiḥ /
brahmacāry atha tadrātryāṃ śvo bhūte prathame 'hani //

Permitted by them, after honoring them, she should eat the remainder together with her loved ones, / remaining celibate that night; and then on the next day, the first day [of the bright fortnight],

44. Having honoured them and obtained their permission, he should eat of the remnant in the company of his relations and beloved ones; the night of the first day he should observe strict celibacy (continence).

8.16.45

snātaḥ śuciryathoktena vidhinā susamāhitaḥ /
payasā snāpayitvārcedyāvadvratasamāpanam //

having bathed, pure, well-composed, according to the prescribed rule, / bathing [the Lord] with milk, she should worship Him until the vow is complete.

45. And, on the next morning having bathed and keeping himself undefiled according to rules and without distraction of mind he should bathe the object of worship with milk till the close of the observance.

8.16.46

payobhakṣo vratamidaṃ caredviṣṇvarcanādṛtaḥ /
pūrvavaj juhuyādagniṃ brāhmaṇāṃścāpi bhojayet //

Subsisting on milk, devoted to the worship of Viṣṇu, she should observe this vow. / She should offer oblations into the fire as before, and also feed the brāhmaṇas.

46. Taking milk-food and with full devotion to the worship of Vishnu, he should continue this observance; as before he should throw offerings into the sacred fire and feed Brahmins also.

8.16.47

evaṃ tvaharahaḥ kuryāddvādaśāhaṃ payovratam /
harerārādhanaṃ homamarhaṇaṃ dvijatarpaṇam //

Thus she should carry out the milk-vow day after day for twelve days: / worship of Hari, fire-offering, honoring, and gratifying the twice-born.

47. Thus, indeed, from day to day, subsisting on milk, he should observe this vow for twelve days, and worship Hari, and pour oblation into the sacred fire and gratify Brahmins.

8.16.48

pratipaddinamārabhya yāvac chuklatrayodaśīm /
brahmacaryamadhaḥsvapnaṃ snānaṃ triṣavaṇaṃ caret //

Beginning from the first lunar day up to the thirteenth day of the bright fortnight, / she should observe celibacy, sleeping on the ground, and bathing thrice a day.

48. From the first day of the bright fortnight to the 13th day, he should observe celibacy (continency), sleep on the bare ground, and bathe thrice a day.

8.16.49

varjayedasadālāpaṃ bhogān uccāvacāṃstathā /
ahiṃsraḥ sarvabhūtānāṃ vāsudevaparāyaṇaḥ //

She should avoid bad talk as well as pleasures high and low, / harmless to all living beings, wholly devoted to Vāsudeva.

49. He should avoid talking on unholy topics as well as all pleasures great or small. He should not be harmful to any being; but should be devoted only to Vasudeva.

8.16.50

trayodaśyāmatho viṣṇoḥ snapanaṃ pañcakairvibhoḥ /
kārayec chāstradṛṣṭena vidhinā vidhikovidaiḥ //

Then on the thirteenth day, she should have the bathing of the all-powerful Viṣṇu performed with the five [products of the cow] / according to the scriptural rule by those skilled in the rites.

50. On the thirteenth day he should perform abhisheka to the Lord Vishnu (ablutions), with the five sweet ingredients, according to the rules of Sastra, with the help of those that understand them.

8.16.51

pūjāṃ ca mahatīṃ kuryādvittaśāṭhyavivarjitaḥ /
caruṃ nirūpya payasi śipiviṣṭāya viṣṇave //

And, free from stinginess with wealth, she should perform a grand worship, / offering cooked rice in milk to Viṣṇu who pervades the rays of light.

51. He should worship, as grandly as possible, avoiding all niggardliness; having offered the oblation of food in milk to Vishnu that pervades all light and with a collected mind, he should make offerings into the fire with the cooked food to propitiate the perfect Person: excellent food should be offered that may delight the Purusha.

8.16.52

sūktena tena puruṣaṃ yajeta susamāhitaḥ /
naivedyaṃ cātiguṇavaddadyāt puruṣatuṣṭidam //

With that hymn she should worship the Supreme Person, deeply concentrated, / and she should present very fine food offerings that bring satisfaction to the Supreme Person.

8.16.53

ācāryaṃ jñānasampannaṃ vastrābharaṇadhenubhiḥ /
toṣayedṛtvijaścaiva tadviddhy ārādhanaṃ hareḥ //

She should gratify the preceptor endowed with knowledge, and the sacrificial priests as well, / with garments, ornaments, and cows; know that to be the worship of Hari.

53. He should also gratify the wise preceptor with cloths, jewels, and cows as well as the priests, and know that to be the worship of Hari.

8.16.54

bhojayet tān guṇavatā sadannena śucismite /
anyāṃśca brāhmaṇān chaktyā ye ca tatra samāgatāḥ //

O sweet-smiling woman, she should feed them with excellent, wholesome food, / and also other brāhmaṇas who have gathered there according to her means.

54. They should be fed with excellent food and dainty eatables, O charming one, and also other Brahmins, as far as possible, who may have come to the place.

8.16.55

dakṣiṇāṃ gurave dadyādṛtvigbhyaśca yathārhataḥ /
annādyenāśvapākāṃśca prīṇayet samupāgatān //

She should bestow a sacrificial fee upon the preceptor and upon the priests as each deserves, / and she should please even the outcastes who have arrived with food and other gifts.

55. Dakshina should be given according to merit, to Guru as well as to priests, besides food and drink; even the sinful wretches who might have come there should be pleased (find satisfaction).

8.16.56

bhuktavatsu ca sarveṣu dīnāndhakṛpaṇādiṣu /
viṣṇostat prīṇanaṃ vidvān bhuñjīta saha bandhubhiḥ //

And when everyone has eaten, down to the miserable, the blind, and the destitute, / knowing that to be the gratification of Viṣṇu, she should eat together with her kinfolk.

56. All having been fed including the helpless, the blind, and other pitiable creatures, and believing that to be the gratification of Vishnu, he should partake of the food along with his relations.

8.16.57

nṛtyavāditragītaiśca stutibhiḥ svastivācakaiḥ /
kārayet tatkathābhiśca pūjāṃ bhagavato 'nvaham //

With dance, musical instruments, and singing, with hymns of praise and benedictions, / and with narrations of His stories, she should perform the worship of the Lord every day.

57. The worship of the Lord should be conducted every day with dances, instrumental and vocal music, the singing of hymns invocatory and of benediction and with the narration of the holy stories of the Almighty Lord's deeds.

8.16.58

etat payovrataṃ nāma puruṣārādhanaṃ param /
pitāmahenābhihitaṃ mayā te samudāhṛtam //

This is known as the milk-vow, the highest worship of the Supreme Person; / declared by the grandfather, it has been recounted to you by me.

58. This is indeed called Payovrata, the best form of worshipping the perfect Person; what was taught me by Brahma has been explained to thee.

8.16.59

tvaṃ cānena mahābhāge samyak cīrṇena keśavam /
ātmanā śuddhabhāvena niyatātmā bhajāvyayam //

And through this, when properly performed, O blessed lady, / with a pure disposition and a controlled mind, worship the imperishable Keśava yourself.

59. O very fortunate one, by observing this course of worship carefully conducted, with a pure mind and heart, with control of mind, serve the feet of the undecaying Lord.

8.16.60

ayaṃ vai sarvayajñākhyaḥ sarvavratamiti smṛtam /
tapaḥsāramidaṃ bhadre dānaṃ ceśvaratarpaṇam //

This indeed is called all sacrifices; this is traditionally remembered as all vows; / this is the essence of asceticism, O auspicious lady, and charity, and the pleasing of God.

60. This is also called Sarva yajna and Sarva vrata (perfect sacrifice and perfect vow); this is the essential form of Tapas, O fortunate one, and the gift as described and the gratification of the Lord.

8.16.61

ta eva niyamāḥ sākṣāt ta eva ca yamottamāḥ /
tapo dānaṃ vrataṃ yajño yena tuṣyaty adhokṣajaḥ //

Those are indeed the observances themselves, those are the highest restraints, / asceticism, charity, vow, and sacrifice, by which Adhokṣaja is pleased.

61. Those are the most important restrictions of mind and body and that is the best tapas, gift, vow or sacrifice, which delight Adhokshaja.

8.16.62

tasmādetadvrataṃ bhadre prayatā śraddhayācara /
bhagavān parituṣṭaste varān āśu vidhāsyati //

Therefore, O auspicious lady, observe this vow with self-restraint and faith; / when the Lord is thoroughly pleased, He will quickly grant your boons.

62. Therefore, O happy one, do thou, with piety and faith, undertake this observance; the glorious Lord will be soon pleased to confer boons on thee.