Bhagavatapurana 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.1 — 39 parts
2.2 — 37 parts
2.3 — 25 parts
2.4 — 25 parts
2.5 — 42 parts
2.6 — 45 parts
2.7 — 53 parts
2.8 — 29 parts
2.9 — 45 parts
2.10 — 51 parts

2.1.1

Śrī Śuka said: / 'This question of yours is most noble, made for the benefit of the world, O king, / approved by knowers of the self, and superior among all things to be heard by men.

2.1.2

There are thousands of things to be heard, O king of kings, for mortals / who do not see the truth of the self, householders living in their homes.

2.1.3

Their lifespan is carried away at night by sleep or sexual union, / and during the day by the pursuit of wealth or the maintenance of their family, O king.

2.1.4

Deluded regarding his body, offspring, wife, and other false armies of his self, / even while seeing their destruction, he does not see it.

2.1.5

Therefore, O descendant of Bharata, the Lord, the Ruler, Hari, the Self of all, / should be heard, glorified, and remembered by one who desires freedom from fear.

2.1.6

This much is the supreme gain of human birth through Sāṅkhya and yoga, / and through steadfast dedication to one's own dharma: remembrance of Nārāyaṇa at the end.

2.1.7

Generally, sages, O king, who have turned away from injunctions and prohibitions / and abide beyond the guṇas, delight in recounting the qualities of Hari.

2.1.8

This Purāṇa named Bhāgavata, equal to the Veda, / I studied from my father, Dvaipāyana, at the beginning of the Dvāpara age.

2.1.9

Though established beyond the guṇas, my heart was captivated / by the divine play of Him of highest renown, and so I studied this narrative, O royal sage.

2.1.10

I shall recite that to you, who are a great servant of the Lord; / in those who place faith in it, steadfast devotion to Mukunda quickly arises.

2.1.11

For those who are becoming dispassionate and for yogins who desire fearlessness, / the repeated glorification of Hari's name has been determined [as the means], O king.

2.1.12

What is the use of many unseen years to a heedless man in this world? / Better is a single hour known [as one's remaining time], since one can strive for what is highest.

2.1.13

The royal sage named Khaṭvāṅga, knowing the measure of his life remaining in this world, / abandoned everything in an hour and attained Hari, the fearless.

2.1.14

Your life's limit, too, O descendant of Kuru, is seven days from now; / prepare during this time all that pertains to the hereafter.

2.1.15

When the final hour has arrived, a man, free from fear, / should sever with the sword of non-attachment all desire for the body and those who follow it.

2.1.16

Having departed from home, firm in mind, bathed in the waters of a holy pilgrimage-place, / he should sit in a clean and secluded place on a seat prepared according to rule.

2.1.17

He should mentally practice the pure, threefold, supreme syllable of Brahman; / with his breath conquered and not forgetting the seed-syllable of Brahman, he should restrain the mind.

2.1.18

With the intellect as charioteer, he should restrain the senses from their objects through the mind; / the mind distracted by actions he should fix upon an auspicious object through the intellect.

There he should meditate upon one limb with unbroken concentration; / having made the mind free of objects, he should then remember nothing at all, / [dwelling upon] that supreme abode of Viṣṇu in which the mind becomes serene.

2.1.20

Whenever his mind, deluded, is distracted by passion and darkness, / the resolute man should restrain it through concentration, which destroys the impurity caused by them.

2.1.21

When this [concentration] is maintained, yoga characterized by devotion / quickly arises for the yogin who perceives that auspicious refuge.'

2.1.22

The king said: / 'How is concentration maintained, O brāhmaṇa, where is it approved, / or of what nature is it that quickly removes the impurity of a man's mind?'

2.1.23

Śrī Śuka said: / 'Having conquered his posture, breath, attachments, and senses, / one should fix one's mind through the intellect upon the gross form of the Lord.

2.1.24

This universe is His specific, grossest body among all gross things, / in which this cosmos—past, future, and present—is manifested as real.

2.1.25

In this cosmic egg-shell body with its seven coverings, / that Cosmic Person who is the Lord is the object of concentration.

2.1.26

Pātāla, they say, is the soles of His feet, Rasātala the heels and forefeet, / Mahātala the ankles of the Creator of the universe, and Talātala the shanks of the Person.

2.1.27

Sutala is the two knees of the Universal Form, Vitala and Atala His two thighs, / the surface of the earth His hips, O protector of the earth, and the expanse of the sky they declare to be His navel-lake.

2.1.28

His chest is the realm of the luminaries, His neck Mahar, His face Janas, / Tapas they know as the forehead of the Primal Person, and Satya as the heads of the thousand-headed Lord.

2.1.29

The gods headed by Indra are His arms, the quarters His ears, and sound His hearing; / the two Aśvins are the nostrils of the Supreme, smell His sense of scent, and blazing fire His mouth.

2.1.30

The sky became His two eyes, the sun His sight, day and night the eyelashes of Viṣṇu; / the movement of His brows is the realm of the Supreme Creator, the waters His palate, and taste His very tongue.

2.1.31

The Vedic metres they declare to be the head of the Infinite, Yama His molars, affection His teeth, / His smile is the creative power that drives men mad, and the unending creation is the casting of His glance.

2.1.32

Shame is his upper lip, and greed verily his lower lip; dharma is his chest, and the path of adharma is his back. / Prajāpati is his penis, and Mitra and Varuṇa are his testicles; the oceans are his belly, and the mountains are his heaps of bones.

2.1.33

The rivers are his channels, and the trees are the body-hairs of him whose body is the universe, O king. / The wind is the breath of the one of infinite power; his movement is time; his action is the stream of material qualities.

2.1.34

They know the clouds to be the hair of the Lord, and twilight to be the garment of the all-pervading one, O best of Kurus. / They say the unmanifest is his heart, and his mind is the moon, the repository of all modifications.

2.1.35

They declare the intellect to be the cosmic intelligence of the Self of all, and Śiva his inner organ. / Horses, mules, camels, and elephants are his nails; all wild beasts and cattle abide in his hip-region.

2.1.36

The birds are his marvelous artistic skill; Manu is his intellect, and humankind is his dwelling. / The Gandharvas, Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, and Apsarases are the memory of his musical notes; the demonic hosts are his prowess.

2.1.37

The brāhmaṇa is the face of the Great Self, the kṣatriya his arms, the vaiśya his thighs, and the dark caste of śūdras rests on his feet. / Comprising the collection of deities known by various names, the sacrificial performance of rites consists of ritual materials.

2.1.38

Such is this arrangement of the Lord’s form which has been described by me to you. / By one's own intellect, the mind is fixed upon this coarsest form, beyond which nothing else exists.

2.1.39

He is the Self that experiences everything through all functions of the intellect, just as a dreaming person is the sole perceiver. / One should worship Him, the truth, the treasury of bliss; one should not cling to anything else, from which comes the fall of the self.

2.2.1

Śrī Śuka said: / Thus in ancient times, the self-born [Brahmā], regaining his lost memory through meditation from [the Lord] who was pleased, / created this [universe] with unfailing vision and resolute intellect, just as it was before dissolution.

2.2.2

For such is the path of the verbal Brahman, in that one's intellect meditates upon names devoid of ultimate meaning. / Wandering there, asleep in what is made of illusion due to latent tendencies, he finds no true realities.

2.2.3

Therefore, a wise person should use words only to the extent of what is necessary, being vigilant and of resolute intellect. / Seeing the exertion involved, he should not strive after worldly ends once his need is otherwise met.

2.2.4

When the earth exists, what is the need for the effort of a bed? When one’s own arm is ready at hand, what is the use of pillows? / When the cupped palms are available, what is the need for various food vessels? When the quarters and bark garments exist, what is the use of fine silks?

2.2.4.p1

Are there no rags on the path? Do the trees, nurtured by others, / no longer give alms? Have the rivers dried up?

2.2.5

Are the caves blocked? Does the Invincible One no longer protect those who surrender to Him? / Why, then, do the wise court those blinded by the arrogance of wealth?

2.2.5.p1

[…]

2.2.6

Thus the Self, dear, the true goal, the Lord, the infinite, is established in one's own heart entirely on His own. / Peaceful and of steady purpose, one should worship Him, in whom the cessation of the cause of saṃsāra takes place.

2.2.7

Indeed, who, having disregarded that supreme contemplation, would take up false thoughts, other than beasts, / seeing people fallen into the Vaitaraṇī river, suffering the torments born of their own actions?

2.2.8

Some, through fixed concentration, remember the Person dwelling within the space of the heart inside their own body, / measuring a span, having four arms, bearing a lotus, a chariot-wheel [discus], a conch, and a mace:

2.2.9

with a serene face, eyes wide as lotuses, clothed in garments yellow as kadamba filaments, / with golden armlets gleaming with great gems, with a diadem and ear-pendants radiant with sparkling jewels,

2.2.10

his tender feet placed by masters of yoga upon the lotus-pericarp of the blossoming heart, / marked with Śrī, wearing the Kaustubha jewel on his neck, adorned with an unfading garland of forest flowers,

2.2.11

adorned with a girdle, rings, costly anklets, bracelets, and other ornaments, / charming with the smile on his face, which shines through glossy, spotless, curling black tresses,

2.2.12

indicating abundant grace by the movement of his brows flashing in a generous, playful, smiling glance. / One should gaze upon this Lord made of meditation as long as the mind remains steady through concentration.

2.2.13

One should contemplate the limbs one by one with the intellect, beginning with the feet and proceeding up to the smile of the Mace-bearer; / as the intellect becomes progressively purified, one should withdraw from each mastered part and fix it on the next higher one.

2.2.14

As long as bhaktiyoga does not arise toward this Sovereign of the universe, the seer of the higher and the lower, / so long should one with self-restraint remember the coarsest form of the Person at the end of ritual action.

2.2.15

Taking a steady and comfortable posture, when the ascetic desires to depart from this world, my dear, / he should not attach his mind to time or place, but, with breath conquered, should restrain his life-breaths with his mind.

2.2.16

Restraining the mind by his pure intellect, the knower of the field should lead the intellect into the self. / Confining the self within the Self, the wise one, having attained tranquility, should cease from all activity.

2.2.17

Where Time, the supreme master of the gods, is not—what then of the gods who rule over the worlds? / Where there is no purity, nor passion, nor darkness, indeed no transformation, no cosmic intellect, no primordial nature.

2.2.18

They declare that to be the supreme state of Viṣṇu, which those desiring to abandon what is not That, saying 'not this, not this', / reach by casting off pride, embracing that venerable state in their hearts at every step with undivided affection.

2.2.19

In this manner, the sage, fully established, whose mental impurities have been consumed by the power of insight, / pressing the anus with his heel, having overcome fatigue, should then raise the breath through the six centers.

2.2.20

Having elevated the breath situated at the navel to the heart, the sage should lead it from there to the chest via the path of the udāna breath; / then, focused with his intellect, the thoughtful one should lead it slowly to the base of his palate.

2.2.21

From there, having blocked the seven orifices and having no worldly attachments, he should raise it to the space between the brows. / Staying there for half an hour with unobstructed vision, having pierced the crown of the head, having attained the Supreme, he should depart.

2.2.22

If, O king, he is about to journey to the realm of the highest Lord [Brahmā], or the playground of the sky-dwellers, / or the eightfold lordship in the assembly of the material qualities, he should depart along with the mind and the senses.

2.2.23

They speak of the movement of the masters of yoga whose inner self is the wind, within and outside the three worlds; / people do not attain by ritual actions that destination of those devoted to spiritual knowledge, asceticism, yoga, and absorption.

2.2.24

Having gone into the sky by the luminous Suṣumṇā, the path of Brahman, he goes to the Fire deity. / With impurities shaken off, O king, he then proceeds upward to the Śiśumāra circle of Hari.

2.2.25

Having transcended that navel of the universe of Viṣṇu, he alone, with a subtle and spotless body, / reaches the realm praised by knowers of Brahman, where the gods who live for a cosmic day enjoy themselves.

2.2.26

Then, seeing the universe being burnt up by the fire from the mouth of Ananta, / he departs to the abode honored by the masters of spiritual perfection, the realm of the highest Lord, which lasts for two parārdhas.

2.2.27

where there is no sorrow, no old age, no death, no pain, and no agitation from any source, / except for that which is consciousness arising from compassion for those who do not know this, seeing the onset of endless misery.

2.2.28

Then, having reached the gross element [earth], fearless, he enters the waters through that self; / having become fiery, he goes swiftly to the wind; and in time, having attained the wind through that self, he reaches the sky, the great mark of the Self.

2.2.29

Through the sense of smell he reaches odor, and through taste flavor indeed, / through sight form, and through touch the air; and having reached the quality of space through the ear, through the life-breath the yogin reaches action.

2.2.30

Having attained that which consists of the subtle elements and senses, which consists of mind, which consists of gods, and which is subject to modification, / he proceeds through that movement to the truth of intellect, the cessation of the guṇas.

2.2.31

Through that self he reaches the peaceful, blissful Self, being full of bliss at the end; / he who has reached this divine path, my dear, is never again bound here.

2.2.32

These two eternal paths sung in the Vedas were inquired into by you, O king, / which the pleased Lord Vāsudeva indeed declared of old to Brahmā when worshipped.

2.2.33

For there is no other auspicious path in this cycle of rebirth for one who enters it, / than that by which the yoga of devotion to Lord Vāsudeva arises.

2.2.34

The Lord [Brahmā], having investigated the Veda three times in its entirety with his intellect, / the unmoving one determined that by which loving attachment to the Self arises.

2.2.35

The Lord Hari is perceived in all beings through his own self / as the seer, inferred by characteristics such as intellect and the like, which are objects of sight.

2.2.36

Therefore, O king, with all one's heart, everywhere, and always, / the Lord Hari must be heard, glorified, and remembered by men.

2.2.37

Those who drink through the cups of their ears the nectar of the stories of the Lord, the Self of virtuous devotees, gathered therein, / purify their minds corrupted by sense objects and go near his lotus feet.

2.3.1

Śrī Śuka said: / Thus has this been declared, which you asked of me, / concerning that which is [to be done] by dying men among wise mortals.

2.3.2

One who desires Brahmanic splendor should worship the Lord of the Veda; / one who desires powerful senses, Indra; and one who desires offspring, the Prajāpatis;

2.3.3

one who desires prosperity, the goddess Māyā; one who desires brilliance, Fire; / one who desires wealth, the Vasus; and one who is valiant, desiring valor, the Rudras;

2.3.4

one who desires food and the like, Aditi; one who desires heaven, the sons of Aditi; / one who desires kingship, the Viśvedevas; one who desires to accomplish things, the Sādhyas;

2.3.5

one who desires a full life, the two divine Aśvins; one who desires nourishment should worship the Earth; / a man who desires status [should worship] heaven and earth, the mothers of the worlds;

2.3.6

one who desires beauty, the Gandharvas; one who desires women, the Apsaras Urvaśī; / and one who desires lordship over all should worship the Supreme Lord [Brahmā];

2.3.7

one who desires renown should worship Yajña; one who desires treasure, Varuṇa; / one who desires learning, Giriśa; and for the sake of conjugal harmony, the virtuous Umā;

2.3.8

for the sake of dharma, He of highest renown; continuing the family line, one should worship the ancestors; / one who desires protection, the Yakṣas; one who desires vigor, the hosts of Maruts;

2.3.9

one who desires a kingdom should worship the Manus; one who practices sorcery, Nirṛti; / one who desires sense pleasures should worship Soma; but one without desires, the Supreme Person.

2.3.10

Whether free from desires, full of all desires, / or desiring liberation, one of broad intelligence / should worship the Supreme Person with intense yoga of devotion.

2.3.11

Only this much is the dawn of the highest good in this world for those who worship: / unswerving devotional emotion toward the Lord, which arises from association with Bhāgavatas.

2.3.11.p1

Knowledge by which the churning whirlpool of the guṇas is checked, peace of self, and detachment from the guṇas,

2.3.12

and the yoga of devotion, the path approved for absolute liberation—who, being at peace, would not take delight in narratives of Hari?

2.3.12.p1

[…]

2.3.13

Śaunaka said: / Having heard what was thus spoken, what else did the king, / the bull of the Bharatas, ask further of the sage and poet, the son of Vyāsa?

2.3.14

O wise Sūta, you ought to speak this to us who wish to hear; / for narratives ending in tales of Hari surely arise in an assembly of virtuous devotees.

2.3.15

He indeed was a Bhāgavata king, a descendant of the Pāṇḍavas, a great chariot warrior, / who, while playing with children's toys, took up the play of Kṛṣṇa.

2.3.16

And the son of Vyāsa is a venerable sage, devoted solely to Vāsudeva; / indeed, in the assembly of virtuous devotees, narratives noble with the virtues of Him of wide strides surely occur.

2.3.17

Indeed, as it rises and sets, this sun takes away the lifespan of men, / except for that moment of one which has been spent in talk of He of highest renown.

2.3.18

Do the trees not live? Do the bellows not breathe? / Do the other beasts in the village not eat and urinate?

2.3.19

A human beast is praised by dogs, dung-eating boars, camels, and donkeys, / to whose ear the name of the elder brother of Gada has never come.

2.3.20

Alas, the two ear-holes of a man that do not hear the mighty strides of Him of wide strides are mere snake-holes! / The untruthful tongue, O Sūta, like that of a frog, does not sing aloud the praises of Him of wide renown!

2.3.21

The head, even adorned with a silk turban and crown, is merely a heavy burden if it does not bow to Mukunda; / the two hands, even with shining golden bracelets, are like those of a corpse if they do not perform worship of Hari.

2.3.22

Those eyes of men that do not behold the forms of Viṣṇu are like the eyes on peacock feathers; / those two feet of men that do not walk to the sacred places of Hari are like the roots of trees.

2.3.23

The mortal who never obtains the dust from the feet of a Bhāgavata is a living corpse; / and the human who does not perceive the scent of the tulasī from the feet of the auspicious Viṣṇu is a corpse that breathes.

2.3.24

Alas, that heart is made of iron stone which, when the names of Hari are being chanted, / does not melt, nor is there modification—tears in the eyes and bristling of hair on the limbs.

2.3.25

Therefore speak, my friend, that which is pleasing to the mind, for you speak as foremost among Bhāgavatas; / what did the son of Vyāsa, skilled in the science of the self, say to the king when duly questioned?

2.4.1

Sūta said: / Having understood the son of Vyāsa's words to be the ascertainment of the truth of the Self, / the son of Uttarā fixed his pure mind on Kṛṣṇa.

2.4.2

He gave up the sense of possessiveness that had continuously taken deep root / in his body, wife, sons, home, cattle, wealth, kin, and his undisputed kingdom.

2.4.3

And he inquired into this very subject which you ask me, O best of the virtuous, / having full faith in hearing the majesty of Kṛṣṇa, being noble-minded.

2.4.4

Having understood his death, and having renounced all action pertaining to the three ends of life, / he reached a firm state of contemplation on the Lord Vāsudeva.

2.4.5

The king said: / Right are your words, O sinless, omniscient sage; / as you tell the story of Hari, my ignorance is dispelled.

2.4.6

I desire to know further how the Lord, by his own creative power, / creates this universe, incomprehensible even to the great rulers.

2.4.7

How the all-pervading Lord protects it, and how He withdraws it again; / resorting to whatever power, He, the Supreme Person of manifold powers, / sporting and making Himself sport, creates and transforms.

2.4.8

Indeed, O brāhmaṇa, the activity of the Lord, of Hari of wondrous deeds, / appears difficult to comprehend even by the wise.

2.4.9

How, indeed, as one alone, He assumes the strands of material nature simultaneously or in succession, / performing deeds through many births.

2.4.10

Let your venerable self explain this doubt of mine properly, / for you are indeed fully versed in the Vedic Brahman and in the Supreme.

2.4.11

Sūta said: / Thus addressed by the king concerning the recounting of the qualities of Hari, / he meditated on Hṛṣīkeśa and began to reply.

2.4.12

Śrī Śuka said: / Homage to the Supreme, the greatest Person, who through the divine play of the creation, maintenance, and destruction of the world / assumes the triad of powers, who dwells within embodied beings, and whose path is imperceptible.

2.4.13

Again, homage to Him who destroys the suffering of virtuous devotees, who is unmanifest to the wicked, who is the embodiment of all purity, / and who bestows Himself upon men established in the state of the supreme ascetic, who seek after Him.

2.4.14

Homage, homage to You, the foremost of the Sātvatas, far removed from bad yogins; / homage to Him who delights in His own abode, in Brahman, with splendour that rejects all equality or superiority.

2.4.15

Whose glorification, whose remembrance, whose vision, whose veneration, whose listening to, and whose worship / immediately shakes off the impurity of the world—to Him of auspicious fame, homage, homage!

2.4.16

By taking refuge at whose feet the wise cast away attachment on both sides of the inner self / and, freed from weariness, attain the state of Brahman—to Him of auspicious fame, homage, homage!

2.4.17

Ascetics, the generous, the renowned, the thoughtful, knowers of mantras, and the highly auspicious / do not attain well-being without offering [their works] to Him—to Him of auspicious fame, homage, homage!

2.4.18

Kirātas, Hūṇas, Andhras, Pulindas, Pulkaśas, Ābhīras, Śumbhas, Yavanas, Khasas, and others, / and whoever else is sinful, become purified by taking refuge in those who have taken refuge in Him—homage to Him of supreme power!

2.4.19

He who is the Self and the sovereign Lord of those who possess the self, composed of the three Vedas, composed of dharma, composed of austerity, / whose mark is contemplated by the unborn [Brahmā], Śaṅkara, and others free from deceit—may that Lord be pleased!

2.4.20

The husband of Śrī, the lord of sacrifice, the lord of creatures, the lord of thought, the lord of worlds, the lord of the earth, / the protector and refuge of the Andhakas, Vṛṣṇis, and Sātvatas—may that Lord, the master of virtuous devotees, be pleased with me!

2.4.21

Through an intellect cleansed by deep absorption in meditation on His feet, [sages] truly perceive the truth of the self, / and poets describe it according to their inclination—may that Lord Mukunda be pleased with me!

2.4.22

Impelled by whom of old, Sarasvatī, reviving faithful memory in the heart of the unborn [Brahmā], / manifested from his mouth with all her characteristics—may that foremost of seers be pleased with me!

2.4.23

Having fashioned these bodies from the great elements, the all-pervading Person lies within them; / composed of the sixteen, He experiences the sixteen qualities—may that Lord adorn my speech!

2.4.24

Homage to that Lord Vāsudeva, the creator, / from whose lotus mouth the gentle [sages] drank this nectar of knowledge!

2.4.25

This very [teaching], O king, the self-born [Brahmā], in whose womb are the Vedas, declared directly to Nārada when he inquired, / just as Hari spoke it to him.

2.5.1

Nārada said: / O god of gods, homage to you, creator of beings, firstborn! / Please explain that knowledge which reveals the truth of the self.

2.5.2

What its form is, what its foundation is, from what this was created, O master, / in what it rests, what is beyond it, and what it truly is—declare that truth accurately.

2.5.3

For you know all this, being the lord of past, future, and present; / the universe is grasped by your comprehensive knowledge, like a myrobalan fruit in the palm of the hand.

2.5.4

Possessing what knowledge, resting on what, having what as highest, consisting of what, / do you alone create beings through the elements themselves by your creative power?

2.5.5

You bring them into being in yourself, yourself untransformed, / relying on your own power without weariness, like a spider.

2.5.6

I know of nothing higher in this [world], O Lord, nothing lower, and nothing equal; / nothing that can be known through names, forms, and qualities, whether existent or nonexistent, coming from anywhere else.

2.5.7

Yet your venerable self performed terrible austerity with a deeply concentrated mind; / by that you cause us distress and give rise to doubt about another [superior].

2.5.8

All this to me who am asking, O omniscient one, Lord of all, / please explain so that, instructed, I may comprehend this clearly.

2.5.9

Brahmā said: / My child, full of compassion, this inquiry of yours is very proper, / since, gentle one, I have been prompted [by you] to describe the power of the Lord.

2.5.10

Nor is what you have said to me untrue, my dear; / for you have not known the One beyond me, since I seem to be all this.

2.5.11

By whose own brilliance this universe is illumined, I illuminate [it], / just as the sun, fire, the moon, and the constellations, planets, and stars [do].

2.5.12

To that Lord Vāsudeva let us meditate with homage, / through whose invincible creative power people call me the teacher of the world.

2.5.13

Ashamed to stand in His line of sight, / she deludes the foolish, who boast: 'It is mine, I am!'

2.5.14

Material substance, action, time, innate nature, and the living entity itself— / there is no reality other than Vāsudeva, O brāhmaṇa, in ultimate truth.

2.5.15

The Vedas are dedicated to Nārāyaṇa; the gods are born from the limbs of Nārāyaṇa; / the worlds are dedicated to Nārāyaṇa; sacrifices are dedicated to Nārāyaṇa.

2.5.16

Yoga is dedicated to Nārāyaṇa; austerity is dedicated to Nārāyaṇa; / knowledge is dedicated to Nārāyaṇa; the supreme goal is dedicated to Nārāyaṇa.

2.5.17

Of Him, the seer, the sovereign Lord, the immutable self of all, / I, having been created, create what is to be created, impelled merely by His glance.

2.5.18

Purity, passion, and darkness—these three strands of the strandless, all-pervading Lord / are assumed through His creative power for maintenance, creation, and destruction.

2.5.19

In the capacity of effect, cause, and agent, resting on substance, knowledge, and action, / the strands bind the Person, the master of creative power, who is eternally free.

2.5.20

This is that Lord Adhokṣaja, whose course cannot be perceived / through these three marks, O brāhmaṇa, the ruler of all and of me.

2.5.21

Desiring to become manifold, the master of creative power through His own creative power / took up time, action, and innate nature, which were spontaneously available in Himself.

2.5.22

From time arose the agitation of the strands; transformation came from innate nature; / and from action arose the birth of the intellect (mahat), presided over by the Person.

2.5.23

From the Mahat, however, as it underwent transformation,
augmented by passion and purity, arose [egoity], in which darkness predominates,
consisting of substance, knowledge, and action.

2.5.24

It is called egoity, and undergoing transformation it became threefold:
transformation-born [sāttvika], luminous [rājasa], and dark [tāmasa]—such are its divisions,
being the power of substance, the power of action, and the power of knowledge, O master.

2.5.25

From the dark [egoity], which is the origin of the elements, as it underwent transformation, arose space.
Its subtle element and quality is sound, which is the mark indicating the seer and the seen.

2.5.26

Then, from space undergoing transformation, arose air, whose quality is touch,
and, through association with what preceded it, possessed of sound as well; it is the vital breath, sensory vigor, mental energy, and bodily strength.

2.5.27

From air also, as it underwent transformation through time, action, and nature,
fire was indeed produced, possessed of form, as well as touch and sound.

2.5.28

From fire undergoing transformation arose water, whose essence is taste,
and water possesses form and touch, as well as sound, through association with what preceded it.

2.5.29

From water undergoing transformation arose the particular [element, earth], endowed with smell,
and endowed with the qualities of taste, touch, sound, and form, through association with what preceded it.

2.5.30

From the transformation-born [egoity] arose the mind, and the ten transformation-born deities:
the quarters, the wind, the sun, Pracetas, the Aśvins, fire, Indra, Upendra, and Mitra.

2.5.31

From the luminous [egoity], however, as it underwent transformation, the ten senses arose:
the power of knowledge and the power of action, intellect and vital breath—both being luminous—
the ear, skin, nose, eye, tongue, speech, arms, genitals, feet, and anus.

2.5.32

When these entities—the elements, senses, mind, and qualities—remained uncombined,
and were unable to create the abode [of the cosmos], O best of knowers of Brahman,

2.5.33

then, uniting with one another impelled by the Lord’s power,
and taking up both existence and non-existence, they created this [cosmic egg].

2.5.34

At the end of a thousand cycles of years, the living [Lord],
situated in time, action, and nature, brought that lifeless egg lying upon the water to life.

2.5.35

That very Puruṣa, having broken through that egg, emerged,
possessing a thousand thighs, feet, arms, and eyes, and a thousand faces and heads.

2.5.36

With his limbs here the wise imagine the worlds:
the seven lower worlds from his waist and below, and the seven upper worlds from his hips and above.

2.5.37

The brāhmaṇa was the mouth of the Puruṣa, the kṣatriya became his arms,
the vaiśya arose from the thighs of the Lord, and the śūdra from his feet.

2.5.38

Bhūrloka was fashioned from his feet, Bhuvarloka from his navel,
Svarloka from the heart, and Maharloka from the chest of the Great-souled One.

2.5.39

Janaloka is upon his neck, Tapoloka from his two breasts,
and Satyaloka, the eternal realm of Brahmā, from his heads.

2.5.40

Atala is situated at his waist, and Vitala at the thighs of the all-pervading Lord;
pure Sutala is at his knees, and Talātala at his calves.

2.5.41

Mahātala is from his ankles, Rasātala from his forefeet,
and Pātāla from the soles of his feet: thus the Person is composed of the worlds.

2.5.42

Bhūrloka is fashioned from his feet, Bhuvarloka from his navel,
and Svarloka is fashioned from his head: or such is the arrangement of the worlds.

2.6.1

Brahmā said:
His mouth is the realm of speech and fire; his seven bodily tissues are the Vedic meters;
his tongue is the realm of oblations to the gods, offerings to the ancestors, nectar, foods, and all tastes.

2.6.2

His nostrils are the supreme abode of all vital breaths and of the wind;
his sense of smell is the realm of the Aśvins, of medicinal herbs, and of pleasures and delights.

2.6.3

His sight is the realm of forms and lustres; his two eyes are the realm of the heavens and the sun;
his two ears are the realm of the quarters and sacred places; his hearing is the realm of space and sound;
his body is the vessel of the essences of all things and of auspicious beauty.

Translations (1)

The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English

Linked texts (1)

Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Bhagavatapurana 2

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