Bhagavatapurana 10.80
English (machine translation) 10.80
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10.80.1
The King said:
O Lord, what other heroic deeds of the great Mukunda there may be,
of him of infinite prowess, I desire to hear, O master!
10.80.2
Who, indeed, having heard again and again the virtuous tales of He of highest renown,
would cease, if he is a connoisseur afflicted by the arrows of desire?
10.80.3
That is speech which sings of his virtues; those are hands that perform his work; and that is the mind
which remembers him abiding in the moving and unmoving; that is the ear which hears the purifying tales of him.
10.80.4
His head indeed should bow down to both symbols [of the Lord], that indeed is an eye which sees them,
and those are limbs which constantly revere the water that has washed the feet of Viṣṇu and his people.
10.80.5
Sūta said:
Questioned thus by Viṣṇurāta, the venerable son of Bādarāyaṇa,
his heart immersed in the Lord Vāsudeva, spoke:
10.80.6
Śrī Śuka said:
There was a certain friend of Kṛṣṇa, a brāhmaṇa foremost among knowers of Brahman,
detached from the objects of the senses, tranquil in self, having conquered his senses.
10.80.7
Living on whatever came by chance, a householder,
the wife of that poorly-clad man was likewise emaciated with hunger.
10.80.8
Devoted to her husband, with a withered face,
suffering and trembling, she approached her impoverished husband and spoke:
10.80.9
'Is not your friend directly the Lord, the husband of Śrī, O brāhmaṇa,
favorable to brāhmaṇas and a refuge, the Lord, the bull of the Sātvatas?
10.80.10
Approach him, O fortunate one, the supreme refuge of the virtuous;
he will give abundant wealth to you, a householder who is suffering.
10.80.11
He now resides in Dvāravatī, the lord of the Bhojas, Vṛṣṇis, and Andhakas;
he gives even himself to one who remembers his lotus feet.
What then of wealth and desires, which are not very cherished [by comparison], to one who worships him, the teacher of the universe?'
10.80.12
Thus repeatedly urged many times by his wife, the brāhmaṇa [thought]:
'This indeed is the highest gain: the sight of Him of highest renown.'
10.80.13
Having reflected thus in his mind, he set his resolve on going:
'Is there any gift at all in the house, auspicious woman? Let it be given.'
10.80.14
Begging four handfuls of flattened rice from fellow brāhmaṇas,
she tied them in a piece of cloth and gave them to her husband as a present.
10.80.15
Taking them, that best of brāhmaṇas departed for Dvārakā, it is said,
thinking: 'How will I obtain the sight of Kṛṣṇa?'
10.80.16
Passing through three guard stations and three courtyards, that twice-born man,
the brāhmaṇa, went among the mansions of the Andhakas and Vṛṣṇis devoted to Acyuta.
10.80.17
The brāhmaṇa entered one of the splendid mansions
of the sixteen thousand queens of Hari, as if having attained the bliss of Brahman.
10.80.18
Seeing him from afar, seated on his beloved’s couch,
Acyuta suddenly rose, approached, and embraced him with both arms in joy.
10.80.19
Intensely delighted by bodily contact with his dear friend, the brāhmaṇa sage,
the lotus-eyed Lord, filled with affection, shed tears from his eyes.
10.80.20
Then, having seated him on the couch, himself offering worship to his friend,
he washed his feet and the water that washed his feet,
10.80.21
the Lord, the purifier of the worlds, took upon his head, O King;
he anointed him with divine fragrances—sandalwood, aguru, and saffron.
10.80.22
Worshiping his friend joyfully with fragrant incense and rows of lamps,
he offered betel nut and a cow, and bid him welcome.
10.80.23
Upon that poorly clad, dirty, emaciated brāhmaṇa, his veins prominent,
the queen herself waited with a whisk-fan.
10.80.24
Seeing the renounced ascetic honored with such great affection
by Kṛṣṇa of spotless renown, the women of the inner apartments were astonished:
10.80.25
'What merit was performed by this renounced ascetic, a beggar,
devoid of fortune in this world, despised and lowly,
10.80.26
that he has been honored by the teacher of the three worlds, the abode of Śrī,
who, leaving Śrī seated on the couch, embraced him like an elder brother?'
10.80.27
Holding each other's hands, O King, the two virtuous friends
recounted their charming past stories while living at their guru's home.
10.80.28
The Lord said:
'O brāhmaṇa, knower of dharma, after returning from the guru's family
where you paid the teacher's fee, did you marry a worthy wife or not?
10.80.29
Generally your mind is not driven by desire in household life;
nor do you take much delight in riches, O learned one; this is indeed known to me.
10.80.30
Some perform actions with minds untouched by desires,
renouncing natural impulses, for the sake of guiding the world, just as I do.
10.80.31
Do you remember our dwelling in the guru's house, O brāhmaṇa, from which
a twice-born man, having understood what is to be known, reaches the beyond of darkness?
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The first birth here is indeed of a twice-born from virtuous acts, my dear friend,
wherein for the stages of life, I, as the guru, bestow knowledge.
10.80.33
Truly skilled in purpose are those among the orders and stages of life here, O brāhmaṇa,
who, through me as the guru and my word, easily cross the ocean of transmigration.
10.80.34
I, the Self of all beings, am not so pleased
by sacrifices, progeny, austerities, or quietude as by service to the guru.
10.80.35
Do you remember what happened to us, O brāhmaṇa, when living at our guru's,
when we were once directed by the guru's wife to fetch firewood?
10.80.36
Having entered the great forest out of season, O twice-born,
a very fierce storm of wind and rain arose, with harsh thunderclaps.
10.80.37
And the sun set, and the directions were shrouded in darkness;
no depression or rise could be distinguished in the flood of water.
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Severely battered there by the fierce wind and water in that inundated surge,
not knowing the directions, holding each other's hands, we wandered distressed in the forest.
10.80.39
Knowing this when the sun rose, our guru Sāndīpani,
the master searching for us, his pupils, saw us distressed.
10.80.40
"Ah, my sons, you have suffered great hardship for my sake!
The self is indeed dearest to living beings; yet disregarding that, you were dedicated to me.
10.80.41
Indeed, this alone is the duty of true disciples to repay their teacher:
that with a completely pure heart they surrender their all—their possessions and their very self—to the teacher.
10.80.42
I am pleased, O best of the twice-born! May your desires be fulfilled!
May the Vedic verses never lose their efficacy for you, both in this world and the next!"
10.80.43
Many such experiences occurred for those residing in the teacher's house;
only by the teacher's grace does a person become complete for attaining peace.
10.80.44
The brāhmaṇa said:
"What was not accomplished by us, O God of gods, O teacher of the universe,
for whom residence at the teacher's house was shared with You, whose desires are always true?
10.80.45
For Him whose body is Brahman composed of the Vedic meters, the seedbed of all blessings, O all-pervading Lord,
residing among teachers is an absolute imitation of ordinary life."
Translations (1)
- The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English
Linked texts (1)
- Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit