Bhagavatapurana 10

English (machine translation) 10

Language: English

10.1 — 69 parts
10.2 — 42 parts
10.3 — 53 parts
10.4 — 46 parts
10.5 — 32 parts
10.6 — 44 parts
10.7 — 37 parts
10.8 — 52 parts
10.9 — 23 parts
10.10 — 43 parts
10.11 — 59 parts
10.12 — 44 parts
10.13 — 64 parts
10.14 — 61 parts
10.15 — 53 parts
10.16 — 67 parts
10.17 — 25 parts
10.18 — 32 parts
10.19 — 16 parts
10.20 — 49 parts
10.21 — 20 parts
10.22 — 38 parts
10.23 — 52 parts
10.24 — 38 parts
10.25 — 33 parts
10.26 — 25 parts
10.27 — 28 parts
10.28 — 17 parts
10.29 — 48 parts
10.30 — 44 parts
10.31 — 19 parts
10.32 — 22 parts
10.33 — 40 parts
10.34 — 32 parts
10.35 — 26 parts
10.36 — 40 parts
10.37 — 33 parts
10.38 — 43 parts
10.39 — 57 parts
10.40 — 30 parts
10.41 — 52 parts
10.42 — 38 parts
10.43 — 40 parts
10.44 — 51 parts
10.45 — 50 parts
10.46 — 49 parts
10.47 — 69 parts
10.48 — 36 parts
10.49 — 31 parts
10.50 — 57 parts
10.51 — 63 parts
10.52 — 44 parts
10.53 — 57 parts
10.54 — 60 parts
10.55 — 40 parts
10.56 — 45 parts
10.57 — 42 parts
10.58 — 58 parts
10.59 — 45 parts
10.60 — 59 parts
10.61 — 40 parts
10.62 — 35 parts
10.63 — 53 parts
10.64 — 44 parts
10.65 — 34 parts
10.66 — 43 parts
10.67 — 28 parts
10.68 — 54 parts
10.69 — 45 parts
10.70 — 47 parts
10.71 — 45 parts
10.72 — 46 parts
10.73 — 35 parts
10.74 — 54 parts
10.75 — 40 parts
10.76 — 33 parts
10.77 — 37 parts
10.78 — 40 parts
10.79 — 34 parts
10.80 — 45 parts
10.81 — 41 parts
10.82 — 48 parts
10.83 — 43 parts
10.84 — 71 parts
10.85 — 59 parts
10.86 — 59 parts
10.87 — 50 parts
10.88 — 40 parts
10.89 — 65 parts
10.90 — 50 parts

10.1.1

And especially of the virtuous Yadu, O best of sages.
Relate to us now the mighty deeds of Viṣṇu, who descended there with his portion.

10.1.2

Incarnating in the lineage of Yadu, what deeds the Lord,
the creator of beings, the Self of the universe, performed—tell us those at length.

Chanted by those free from desire, medicine for mundane existence,
delightful to the ear and the mind—
from the narration of the qualities of He of highest renown,
what person would turn away, save a beast-killer?

10.1.4

Having made the impenetrable ocean of the Kaurava army—whose timiṅgila fish
were Bhiṣma and other chariot-chiefs who had conquered the immortals in battle—
into a puddle the size of a calf's hoof, my grandfathers crossed over, with him as their raft.

10.1.5

This body of mine, scorched by the weapon of the son of Droṇa,
the seed of the lineage of the Kurus and Pāṇḍavas,
he protected, entering my mother's womb wielding the discus, when she had taken refuge in him.

10.1.6

The heroic deeds of him who, within and without all embodied beings
in the forms of the Person and Time,
bestows death and immortality, who became a human through creative power—tell of them, O wise one!

10.1.7

Rāma Saṅkarṣaṇa was spoken of by you as the son of Rohiṇī;
how did he have a connection with Devakī's womb without another body?

10.1.8

Why did the Lord Mukunda go from his father's house to Vraja?
Where did the master of the Sātvatas live with his kinsmen?

10.1.9

What did Keśava do while living in Vraja and in Madhupurī?
And why did he kill Kaṃsa, his maternal uncle, an act clearly improper for him?

10.1.10

Assuming a human body, for how many years did he dwell
in the city of the Yadus together with the Vṛṣṇis? How many wives did the master have?

10.1.11

This and all other deeds of Kṛṣṇa, O sage,
you ought to tell me in full, for you are omniscient, and I am full of faith.

10.1.12

This hunger, difficult though it is to endure, does not afflict me,
even though I have renounced water,
as I drink the nectar of tales of Hari flowing from the lotus of your mouth.

10.1.13

This hunger, though very hard to endure, does not torment me, even though I have forsaken water, / as I drink the nectar of Hari's narratives falling from the lotus of your mouth.

10.1.14

Sūta said: / Having thus heard this fine speech, O son of Bhṛgu, the divine son of Vyāsa, foremost of the Bhāgavatas, / then praised Viṣṇurāta and began to narrate the deeds of Kṛṣṇa, which destroy the corruptions of Kali.

10.1.15

Śrī Śuka said: / Your intellect is rightly resolved, O best of royal sages, / since unswerving loving attachment has arisen in you toward the narrative of Vāsudeva.

10.1.16

Indeed, an inquiry into the narrative of Vāsudeva purifies three persons: / the speaker, the inquirer, and the listeners—just like the water from His feet.

10.1.17

Overburdened by hundreds and myriads of armies of Daityas disguised as haughty kings, / the Earth went to Brahmā for refuge.

10.1.18

Assuming the form of a cow, her face covered in tears, grieving and weeping piteously, / she stood before the lord and recounted her distress to him.

10.1.19

Brahmā, having considered that, then went with her and with the gods, / along with the three-eyed Rudra, to the shore of the ocean of milk.

10.1.20

Going there, with concentrated mind he worshipped the Puruṣa, the Lord of the Universe, / God of gods, Vṛṣākapi, with the Puruṣasūkta.

10.1.21

Having heard in meditative absorption a voice uttered in the sky, the Creator spoke to the gods: / 'Hear from me the word of the Supreme Person, O immortals, and quickly act upon it at once, without delay!

10.1.22

The distress of the Earth was known by the Supreme Person even before; you must take birth with portions [of yourselves] among the Yadus, / while that Lord of lords wanders on earth, destroying its burden by his own power of time.

10.1.23

In the house of Vasudeva, the Lord Himself, the Supreme Person, / will take birth; for His pleasure, let the wives of the gods be born.

10.1.24

Ananta, a portion of Vāsudeva, the thousand-faced, self-luminous god, / will appear beforehand, wishing to do what is pleasing to Hari.

10.1.25

The Lord's divine creative power, by which the universe is completely deluded, / commanded by the Master, will take birth with a portion [of herself] to accomplish his purpose.'

10.1.26

Śrī Śuka said: / Having thus instructed the hosts of immortals and comforted the Earth with words, / the all-powerful Lord of the Prajāpatis went to his own supreme abode.

10.1.27

In ancient times, Śūrasena, the lord of the Yadus, lived in the city of Mathurā / and ruled the territories of Mathurā and Śūrasena.

10.1.28

From then on, that Mathurā became the capital of all the Yādava kings, / where the Lord Hari is ever present.

10.1.29

In that city, once upon a time, Śauri Vasudeva, having celebrated his marriage, / mounted the chariot to depart together with his bride Devakī.

10.1.30

Ugrasena’s son, Kaṃsa, wishing to please his sister, / took the reins of the horses, surrounded by hundreds of golden chariots.

10.1.31

Four hundred elephants adorned with golden garlands, / fifteen thousand horses, and three times six hundred chariots—

10.1.32

and two hundred tender, well-adorned maidservants: / Devaka, affectionate toward his daughter, gave this dowry to his daughter upon her departure.

10.1.33

Conches, trumpets, mṛdaṅga drums, and kettle-drums sounded in unison, / O dear one, most auspiciously at the beginning of the departure of the bride and groom.

10.1.34

On the way, a bodiless voice addressed Kaṃsa, who held the reins: / 'Fool, the eighth child of her whom you are carrying shall kill you!'

10.1.35

Addressed thus, that wicked, sinful disgrace to the Bhoja clan / seized his sister by her hair, sword in hand, setting out to kill her.

10.1.36

To him of abominable deeds, cruel and shameless, / the highly fortunate Vasudeva spoke, trying to pacify him.

10.1.37

Śrī Vasudeva said: / You are one whose qualities are praised by heroes, a bringer of fame to the Bhojas; / how could such a man kill his own sister, a woman, on the festive occasion of her wedding?

10.1.38

Death is born alongside the body of living beings, O hero; / today or at the end of a hundred years, death is certain for living beings.

10.1.39

When the body undergoes dissolution into the five elements, the embodied soul, helplessly following its karma, / obtains another body and abandons its former form.

10.1.40

Just as a person walking stands with one foot while advancing with the other, / or just like a caterpillar on a blade of grass, so the embodied soul undergoes the course of karma.

10.1.41

Just as one sees such a body in a dream when consciousness is preoccupied with desire, / reflecting with the mind upon what was seen and heard, and through loss of memory assumes whatever [form that may be]—

10.1.42

whithersoever the mind, driven by fate and consisting of modifications, rushes among the five objects of sense / made pleasing by creative power, that embodied soul, pursuing it, takes birth together with that mind.

10.1.42.p1

Just as that light is perceived in water or on earthy substances / as conforming to the motion of the wind,

10.1.43

so this person, following attachment to the material qualities fashioned by his own creative power, is bewildered.

10.1.43.p1

[…]

10.1.44

Therefore, being of such a nature and seeking his own well-being, one should not bear malice toward anyone; / for indeed, fear arises in the next world for one who bears malice.

10.1.45

This young sister of yours is helpless, like a daughter to you; / you, who are compassionate to the wretched, ought not to kill this auspicious lady.

10.1.46

Śrī Śuka said: / Though advised in this way by peaceful and analytical arguments, that cruel man, / devoted to man-eating demons, did not turn back, O descendant of Kuru.

10.1.47

Knowing his obstinacy, Ānakadundubhi reflected, / and in order to avert the imminent death, hit upon this plan:

10.1.48

'Death should be warded off by an intelligent person as long as intelligence and strength arise; / if it does not turn back, there is no fault in the embodied being.

10.1.49

By giving over the sons to this death, I shall release this helpless woman; / that is, if sons are born to me, or if death itself should not die first.

10.1.50

Or why might the reverse not happen? The course of Providence is hard to overcome. / Impending danger may turn away, and that which had turned away may strike again.

10.1.51

Just as there is no cause other than unseen destiny for fire's union with and separation from wood, / so too the cause of a creature's union with and separation from a body is inconceivable.'

10.1.52

Having thus deliberated, Śauri honored that wicked man with great respect, / to the full extent of his discernment.

10.1.53

With a pleasant lotus-face, though his mind was burning with grief, / he smiled and addressed that cruel, shameless man:

10.1.54

Śrī Vasudeva said:
You have no fear from her, gentle sir, about what the bodiless voice proclaimed. / I shall hand over her sons to you, since it is from them that your fear has arisen.

10.1.55

Śrī Śuka said:
Kaṃsa, understanding the weight of his word, desisted from killing his sister. / Vasudeva too, pleased, praised him and entered his home.

10.1.56

Then, as time rolled by, Devakī, embodiment of all deities, / gave birth year after year to eight sons and a daughter.

10.1.57

Ānakadundubhi offered his firstborn, Kīrtimat, / to Kaṃsa with great distress, trembling exceedingly at [the thought of] untruth.

10.1.58

What indeed is unbearable to the virtuous? What can the wise expect? / What is forbidden to the vile? What is difficult to surrender for those whose minds are restrained?

10.1.59

Seeing that equanimity of Śauri and his steadfastness in truth, / Kaṃsa was pleased in mind, O king, and smiling said this:

10.1.60

"Let this boy go back; indeed, I have no fear of him. / It is from the eighth pregnancy of you two that my death has been decreed."

10.1.61

Saying "So be it," Ānakadundubhi took his son and departed, / but he placed no trust in the word of that wicked man whose mind was uncontrolled.

10.1.62

Nanda and the other cowherds who were in Vraja, and their womenfolk; / the Vṛṣṇis led by Vasudeva, and the Yadu women led by Devakī;

10.1.63

all of them were mostly divine beings on both sides, O Bhārata, / as were their kinsmen, relatives, friends, and those who followed Kaṃsa.

10.1.64

The venerable Nārada, having approached, disclosed this to Kaṃsa, / as well as the endeavor to slay the demons who were a burden to the earth.

10.1.65

Upon the sage’s departure, Kaṃsa considered the Yadus to be gods, / and Viṣṇu, who would be born from Devakī's womb, destined to slay him.

10.1.66

Confining Devakī and Vasudeva with chains in their home, / he killed each son born of them, fearing that it might be the Unborn.

10.1.67

Greedy kings on earth who live only to gratify their senses / usually kill their mother, father, brothers, and all friends.

10.1.68

Knowing that he had been born here as the great demon Kālanemi, slain previously by Viṣṇu, / he became hostile to the Yadus.

10.1.69

Having himself imprisoned his father Ugrasena, king of the Yadus, Bhojas, and Andhakas, / the mighty one ruled the Śūrasenas.

10.2.1

Śrī Śuka said:
Allied with Pralamba, Baka, Cāṇūra, Tṛṇāvarta, Mahāśana, / Muṣṭika, Ariṣṭa, Dvivida, Pūtanā, Keśin, Dhenuka,

10.2.2

and other demon kings headed by Bāṇa and Bhauma, / the powerful one, relying on the king of Magadha, wrought havoc upon the Yadus.

10.2.3

Oppressed, they entered the lands of the Kurus, Pañcālas, Kekayas, / Śālvas, Vidarbhas, Niṣadhas, Videhas, and also the Kośalas.

10.2.4

Some kinsmen, complying with him, served him. / When six infants of Devakī were killed by the son of Ugrasena,

10.2.5

the seventh, an abode of Viṣṇu, whom they call Ananta, / became a child in the womb of Devakī, increasing both her joy and sorrow.

10.2.6

The Lord too, the Soul of the universe, knowing the fear arising from Kaṃsa / experienced by the Yadus, whose protectors were Himself, commanded Yogamāyā:

10.2.7

"Go, O goddess, O auspicious one, to Vraja adorned with cowherds and cows. / Rohiṇī, wife of Vasudeva, is residing in Nanda's Gokula, / and others, terrified of Kaṃsa, are living in hiding.

10.2.8

In Devakī’s womb is the fetus named Śeṣa, My own abode; / attract it away and place it within the womb of Rohiṇī.

10.2.9

Then, O auspicious one, with My plenary portion, I shall attain the state of Devakī's son, / and you will be born of Yaśodā, the wife of Nanda.

10.2.10

Human beings will worship you, the ruler who fulfills all desires and gives all boons, / with incense, offerings, and sacrifices, as the giver of all desired boons.

10.2.11

Men on earth will establish names and places for you / as Durgā, Bhadrakālī, Vijayā, and Vaiṣṇavī;

10.2.12

Kumudā, Caṇḍikā, Kṛṣṇā, Mādhavī, and Kanyakā; / Māyā, Nārāyaṇī, Īśānī, Śāradā, and Ambikā."

10.2.13

"Because of the extraction of the fetus, on earth they will call Him Saṅkarṣaṇa; / Rāma because He brings delight to the world; and Balabhadra because of the prominence of His strength."

10.2.14

Thus commanded by the Lord, accepting His word with "So be it, Om," / and circumambulating Him, she went to the earth and did just so.

10.2.15

When the fetus was transferred from Devakī to Rohiṇī by Yoganidrā, / the citizens lamented: "Alas, her pregnancy has miscarried!"

10.2.16

The Lord too, the Soul of the universe, who gives freedom from fear to His devotees, / entered with His plenary portion into the mind of Ānakadundubhi.

10.2.17

Bearing that splendor of the Supreme Person, shining like the sun, / he became unapproachable and formidable to all living beings.

10.2.18

Then, from his mind, the queen received that auspiciousness of the universe, a portion of Acyuta, deposited by the son of Śūra— / the all-pervading Soul who had become her child, just as the eastern quarter receives the joy-bringing moon.

10.2.19

Devakī, having become the dwelling place of the Dwelling Place of all the worlds, did not shine brightly, / enclosed within the palace of the Bhoja king like a flame of fire confined, or like wisdom in a dishonest man.

10.2.19.p1

Seeing her, who possessed the Unconquered within her through His effulgence, / illuminating the palace and sweetly smiling,

10.2.20

Kaṃsa said: "This Hari, the stealer of my life, has surely taken shelter in her womb, / for previously she was not like this.

10.2.20.p1

[…]

10.2.21

What is to be done by me right now regarding Him? May my prowess not destroy my ultimate goal! / This slaying of a woman, of a sister, of a pregnant mother, will at once destroy my fame, fortune, and life.

10.2.22

He who lives by extreme cruelty is indeed dead even while alive; / when his body dies, men curse him, and he, bound to bodily pride, surely goes to blind darkness."

10.2.23

Having thus turned away by himself from that most dreadful intention, the ruler / remained awaiting His birth, maintaining constant enmity toward Hari.

10.2.24

While sitting, resting, standing, eating, or walking about the earth, / meditating upon Hṛṣīkeśa, he saw the entire world filled with Him.

10.2.25

Brahmā and Bhava arrived there with the sages led by Nārada / and the gods with their attendants, and praised the Bestower of boons with words of prayer:

10.2.25.p1

"You who are true to Your vow, devoted to truth, the threefold truth, / the source of truth, and stationed in truth;

10.2.26

the truth of truth, whose eyes are the cosmic order and the truth, / the embodiment of truth—we have surrendered to You as our shelter.

10.2.26.p1

[…]

10.2.27

This primordial tree has a single resting place, two fruits, three roots, four saps, five varieties, a sixfold nature, / seven barks, eight branches, nine openings, ten leaves, and two birds.

10.2.28

You alone are the origin of this existing [universe]; you are its resting-place, and you are its destruction. / Those whose intellects are obscured by your creative power see you as manifold, but the wise do not.

10.2.29

You, the self that is pure consciousness, assume forms endowed with purity for the welfare of the moving and unmoving world, / bringing happiness to the virtuous devotees and repeatedly bringing misfortune to the wicked.

10.2.30

O lotus-eyed one, some, with minds absorbed in absorption in you, the abode of all purity, / cross the ocean of rebirth as if it were a calf's hoofprint, by means of the boat of your feet provided by exalted devotees.

10.2.30.p1

Having crossed the formidable ocean of rebirth, so difficult to cross, themselves, O radiant one, those of immense benevolence

10.2.31

departed, leaving behind here the boat of your lotus feet; you are kind to the virtuous devotees.

10.2.31.p1

[…]

10.2.31.p2

Those others, O lotus-eyed one, who fancy themselves liberated, having impure intellects because devotional emotion toward you is absent,

10.2.31.p3

Those others, O lotus-eyed one, who fancy themselves liberated, having impure intellects because devotional emotion toward you is absent,

10.2.32

having climbed with hardship to the highest station, fall down from there because they disregarded your feet.

10.2.32.p1

[…]

10.2.33

Not so your devotees, O Mādhava; bound to you in affection, they never stray from the path; / protected by you, O Lord, they wander fearless, stepping on the heads of the leaders of obstacle-creating hordes.

10.2.33.p1

For preservation, you assume pure purity, a form that bestows the highest good upon embodied souls,

10.2.34

by which people aspire to worship you through Vedic rites, yoga, asceticism, and absorption.

10.2.34.p1

[…]

10.2.34.p2

If this innate purity were not yours, O Creator, then knowledge that wipes away the divisions of ignorance [would not exist];

10.2.34.p3

If this innate purity were not yours, O Creator, then knowledge that wipes away the divisions of ignorance [would not exist];

10.2.35

you are inferred by the manifestations of the qualities, and by whose light and by which [purity] a quality shines forth.

10.2.35.p1

[…]

10.2.36

No name and form can be determined through qualities, birth, and deeds for you, the witness thereof, / whose path is only to be inferred by mind and speech; yet people comprehend them in action, O Lord.

10.2.36.p1

Hearing, reciting, causing others to remember, and meditating on your auspicious names and forms,

10.2.37

one whose mind is absorbed in the actions directed toward your lotus feet is not bound for rebirth.

10.2.37.p1

[…]

10.2.37.p2

Fortunate is this earth, O Hari, whose burden has been removed by your foot, for the appearance of you, the Lord;

10.2.37.p3

Fortunate is this earth, O Hari, whose burden has been removed by your foot, for the appearance of you, the Lord;

10.2.38

by good fortune we shall see the earth marked by your exquisite footprints, and heaven favored by you.

10.2.38.p1

[…]

10.2.39

We can divine no cause for the birth of you who are unborn, O Lord, other than your divine amusement; / for birth, dissolution, and maintenance are wrought through ignorance in you, who are the self providing a refuge free of fear.

10.2.39.p1

Having descended as fish, horse, tortoise, man-lion, boar, swan, / king, brāhmaṇa, and god,

10.2.40

you protect us and the three worlds; as now, O Lord, remove the earth's burden, O best of the Yadus! Homage to you!

10.2.40.p1

[…]

10.2.40.p2

By good fortune, O mother, the Supreme Person, the Lord himself, has entered your womb with his portion for our welfare;

10.2.40.p3

By good fortune, O mother, the Supreme Person, the Lord himself, has entered your womb with his portion for our welfare;

10.2.41

let there be no fear of the lord of the Bhojas, who is bent on death; your son will be the protector of the Yadus.

10.2.41.p1

[…]

10.2.42

Śrī Śuka said:
Having thus extolled the Person, whose form is not of this world, / the gods, headed by Brahmā and Īśāna, returned to heaven.

10.3.1

Śrī Śuka said:
Then came a supremely auspicious time, endowed with all favorable qualities, / at which the birth constellation of the unborn Lord appeared, with tranquil constellations, planets, and stars.

10.3.2

The directions grew serene, and the sky displayed a multitude of spotless stars; / the earth was filled with auspicious cities, villages, cowherd settlements, and mines.

10.3.3

The rivers flowed with clear waters; the lakes were glorious with water lilies; / and rows of forests bloomed with clusters of flowers resounding with flocks of birds and swarms of bees.

10.3.4

A pure wind blew, pleasant to the touch and bearing sacred fragrance; / and the sacrificial fires of the twice-born, which had been extinguished, flared up brightly.

10.3.5

The minds of the virtuous devotees, persecuted by the asuras, became cheerful; / when that unborn Lord was being born, kettledrums sounded together.

10.3.6

The Kinnaras and Gandharvas sang; the Siddhas and Cāraṇas chanted praises; / and the Vidyādhara women danced joyfully together with the Apsarases.

10.3.7

The sages and the gods, filled with joy, showered down blossoms; / and the clouds rumbled gently following the ocean.

10.3.8

At midnight, when darkness had arisen, as Janārdana was being born / from Devakī of divine form, Viṣṇu, who dwells in the secret heart of all, / appeared like the full moon rising in the eastern quarter.

10.3.9

That wondrous lotus-eyed child, four-armed, holding weapons upraised—conch, mace, and others— / marked with the Śrīvatsa, the Kaustubha gem shining on his neck, dressed in yellow silk, handsome as a dense rain-cloud,

10.3.10

his abundant locks kissed by the radiance of earrings and a diadem set with priceless cat's-eye gems, / resplendent with an exquisite girdle, armlets, bracelets, and other ornaments, Vasudeva beheld.

10.3.11

His eyes wide with wonder at beholding Hari as his son, Ānakadundubhi then, / agitated with joy at the festival of Kṛṣṇa's incarnation, after bathing mentally gave ten thousand cows to the twice-born.

10.3.12

Then, having realized that he was the Supreme Person, with bent limbs, collected mind, and folded hands, / his fear dispelled as he knew his power, O descendant of Bharata, he praised him who was illuminating the lying-in chamber with his own radiance.

10.3.13

Śrī Vasudeva said:
You are known to be the Supreme Person himself, beyond material nature, / whose very nature is the bliss of pure realization, who perceives the intellects of all.

10.3.14

Having in the beginning created through your own nature this [universe] consisting of the three qualities, / you then appear to have entered it, though you have not entered at all.

10.3.15

Just as these unevolved elements, along with their evolutes, / possessing diverse potencies and remaining separate, produce the cosmic form,

10.3.16

combining and giving rise [to it], they appear to have entered into it, / yet there is no [actual] entrance for them into it, because they existed beforehand.

10.3.17

In this way, though You exist with perceptible qualities whose characteristics are inferred by the intellect, You do not grasp those qualities. / Because You are unobstructed, there is neither an outside nor an inside to You, the Self of all, the substance of reality.

10.3.18

The unwise man who resolves that the self exists in perceptible qualities apart from itself / does not possess deliberate insight without empty repetition, since such a person takes back up what has been properly cast away.

10.3.18.p1

They declare, O all-pervading Lord, that the birth, maintenance, and dissolution of this universe proceed from You, who are devoid of striving, without qualities, and changeless;

10.3.19

in You, the sovereign Lord, Brahman, there is no contradiction, since [these activities] are metaphorically ascribed through the qualities because You are their foundation.

10.3.19.p1

[…]

10.3.19.p2

That very You, for the preservation of the three worlds, by Your own creative power / assume indeed a white form of Your own;

10.3.19.p3

That very You, for the preservation of the three worlds, by Your own creative power / assume indeed a white form of Your own;

10.3.20

a red form augmented by passion for creation; / and a dark form through inertia at the destruction of all beings.

10.3.20.p1

[…]

10.3.21

Desiring to protect this world, O all-pervading Lord of all, You have descended into my home; / You will destroy the armies deployed by commanders of millions of demons posing as kings.

10.3.21.p1

Now this vulgar man, hearing of Your birth in our house, O Lord of the gods, / has slain Your elder brothers;

10.3.22

having just now heard Your incarnation reported by his men, / he approaches with weapons raised.

10.3.22.p1

[…]

10.3.23

Śrī Śuka said: / Then Devakī, beholding this child bearing the marks of the Supreme Person, / approached Him with prayer, terrified of Kaṃsa and deeply astonished.

10.3.24

Śrī Devakī said: / That form which they call the unmanifest, primal Brahman, light, beyond qualities, changeless, / that form which they call the unmanifest, primal Brahman, light, beyond qualities, changeless, / pure existence, devoid of distinctions, without striving—that very One are You, Viṣṇu in person, the lamp of inner self.

10.3.25

// / When the universe is destroyed at the end of two parārdhas, when the great elements have merged into their primal source, / and the manifest world has dissolved into the unmanifest by the swift rush of Time, You alone remain, known by the name of the Remainder.

Translations (1)

The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English

Linked texts (1)

Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Bhagavatapurana 10

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