Bhagavatapurana 10.64
English (machine translation) 10.64
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Contents
10.64.1
Śrī Bādarāyaṇi said: / Once, O king, the Yadu princes—Sāmba, Pradyumna, Cāru, Bhānu, Gada, and others— / went to a garden to play.
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Having played there for a long time, becoming thirsty and searching / for water in a waterless well, they saw an extraordinary creature.
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Seeing a chameleon resembling a mountain, their minds filled with wonder; / moved by pity, they made an effort to rescue it.
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Having bound the fallen creature with leather and fiber cords, the boys / were unable to lift it out, and eagerly reported it to Kṛṣṇa.
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Arriving there, the lotus-eyed Lord, the creator of the universe, / looked at it and easily lifted it out with his left hand as if in divine play.
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Touched by the hand of He of highest renown, it immediately abandoned the form of a chameleon / and became a heavenly being of the charming color of molten gold, adorned with wonderful ornaments, garments, and garlands.
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Although knowing everything, Mukunda asked the cause of that transformation in order to make it known among the people: / 'Who are you, O fortunate one, of such excellent form? I consider you surely to be a foremost deity.'
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“Or by what deed have you, being undeserving of it, been brought to this condition, O auspicious one? / Tell us about yourself, who desire to know, whatever you deem fitting to speak here.”
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Śrī Śuka said: / Thus questioned by Kṛṣṇa of boundless forms, / the king bowed down before Mādhava with his crown blazing like the sun and said:
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Nṛga said: / “I am a king named Nṛga, the son of Ikṣvāku, O Lord; / perhaps my name has touched your ear when donors were being recounted.
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What indeed could be unknown to you, O Lord, the witness of the self of all beings, / whose vision is unimpeded by time? Yet I shall speak by your command.
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As many grains of sand as there are upon the earth, as many stars in the sky, / and as many drops in a shower of rain, so many cows I gave away.
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Giving milk, young, endowed with good temper, beauty, and virtues, tawny, with horns gilded in gold, / acquired through righteousness, with silver hooves, accompanied by their calves, adorned with silk and garlands—such cows I gave,
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to young, foremost Brahmins who were well adorned, endowed with virtue and good character, with suffering families, strictly observing their vows, / devoted to austerities, learning, the Veda, and charity, and upright.
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Cows, land, gold, dwellings, horses, elephants, / maidens with female servants, sesame, silver, beds, / garments, jewels, furnishings, chariots, and sacrifices were offered by me, and charitable works performed.
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A cow belonging to a certain eminent Brahmin strayed into my herd of cows; / mingled among them unknowingly, it was given by me to another Brahmin.
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Seeing it being led away, its owner said to him, ‘It is mine!’ / The recipient replied, ‘It is mine! Nṛga gave it to me.’
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The two Brahmins, arguing and seeking their own interest, said to me: / ‘You are a donor who takes away [what belongs to another]!’ Hearing that, my mind was bewildered.
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Being fallen into a moral crisis, both Brahmins were enticed by me: / ‘I shall give one hundred thousand choice cows; let this one be returned!
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May both of you show grace to your servant who did not know; / deliver me from difficulty, as I am falling into an unclean hell!’
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‘I will not accept it, O King!’ saying this, the owner departed; / ‘I desire no other, not even ten thousand cows!’ the other one left.
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In the meantime, taken to the abode of Yama by the messengers of Yama, / I was questioned there by Yama, O God of gods, O Lord of the universe:
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‘Will you first experience your bad karma, O King, or your good karma? / I see no end to your religious giving, nor of your radiant world.’
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‘Let me first experience the bad, O deity,’ I said; he replied, ‘Fall!’ / Right then, as I fell, O Lord, I saw myself turned into a lizard.
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To a servant of yours who was devoted to Brahmins and generous, O Keśava, / wishing to see you, remembrance has not been destroyed even to this day.
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How have you come into the path of my eyes, O all-pervading Lord, the Supreme Self, / Master of Yoga, who are to be meditated upon in the pure heart through the vision of the Vedas,
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perceptible directly, O Adhokṣaja, to me whose intellect was blinded by grievous misfortune, / you seeing whom brings the cessation of rebirth here?
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[…]
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O God of gods, Lord of the universe, Govinda, Supreme Person, / Nārāyaṇa, Hṛṣīkeśa, He whose praise is purifying, Acyuta, imperishable one!
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Grant me leave, O Kṛṣṇa, as I go to the realm of the gods, O Lord; / wherever I may exist, let my mind rest upon your feet.
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Homage to you, the source of all being, Brahman, of boundless power; / to Kṛṣṇa, to Vāsudeva, homage to the master of yogas!”
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Having spoken thus, circumambulating him and touching his feet with his crown, / permitted [to leave], he mounted an exquisite celestial chariot while men watched.
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The Lord Kṛṣṇa, son of Devakī, / God devoted to Brahmins and the soul of dharma, spoke to his attendants, instructing the royalty:
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“Alas! Property belonging to a Brahmin is difficult to digest even for fire if enjoyed even in the slightest, / though fire is exceedingly powerful; how much more so for kings who consider themselves masters!
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I do not consider the hālāhala to be poison, for which there is a counter-remedy; / a Brahmin's property is declared to be poison—there is no counter-remedy for it on earth.
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Poison destroys only the one who consumes it, fire is extinguished with water; / the fire from the kindling wood of a Brahmin's property burns an entire family to its roots.
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A Brahmin's property enjoyed without proper permission destroys three generations; / but enjoyed by force and violence, it destroys ten ancestors and ten descendants.
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Kings blinded by royal fortune do not see their own downfall, / fools who long for hell, deeming a Brahmin's property good to seize.
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As many particles of dust as are soaked by the teardrops of weeping Brahmins / whose livelihood has been seized, generous men with families,
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for so many years do unbridled kings and those born of royal families / cook in Kumbhīpāka hells, having stolen the inheritance of a Brahmin.
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Whether given by oneself or given by another, whoever steals the livelihood of a Brahmin / is reborn as a worm in feces for sixty thousand years.
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May a Brahmin's wealth not be mine, coveting which men become short-lived, / are defeated, fall from royalty, and become tormenting serpents.
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Do not harm a Brahmin, my people, even if he has committed an offense; / even if he strikes you or curses you profusely, constantly bow down to him.
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Just as I bow to Brahmins at all times with composure, / so should you also bow; whoever acts otherwise shall incur my punishment.
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For a Brahmin's property when stolen casts the stealer down, / even if he did so unknowingly, just like the Brahmin's cow did to King Nṛga.”
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Having thus instructed the dwellers of Dvārakā, the Lord Mukunda, / the purifier of all worlds, entered His own palace.
Translations (1)
- The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English
Linked texts (1)
- Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit