Bhagavatapurana 3

English (machine translation) 3

Language: English

3.1 — 45 parts
3.2 — 34 parts
3.3 — 28 parts
3.4 — 36 parts
3.5 — 50 parts
3.6 — 40 parts
3.7 — 42 parts
3.8 — 33 parts
3.9 — 44 parts
3.10 — 29 parts
3.11 — 41 parts
3.12 — 56 parts
3.13 — 51 parts
3.14 — 51 parts
3.15 — 50 parts
3.16 — 37 parts
3.17 — 31 parts
3.18 — 28 parts
3.19 — 38 parts
3.20 — 53 parts
3.21 — 56 parts
3.22 — 39 parts
3.23 — 57 parts
3.24 — 47 parts
3.25 — 44 parts
3.26 — 72 parts
3.27 — 30 parts
3.28 — 44 parts
3.29 — 45 parts
3.30 — 34 parts
3.31 — 21 parts
3.32 — 70 parts
3.33 — 37 parts

3.1.1

Śrī Śuka said: / Indeed, in this very way the venerable Maitreya was formerly questioned / by the chamberlain who had entered the forest, having abandoned his opulent home.

3.1.2

Or when that counselor of yours, the Lord and master of all, / left the house of the Kaurava lord and entered [Vidura's house], making it His own.

3.1.3

The king said: / Where was the meeting of the chamberlain with the venerable Maitreya, / or when was their conversation? Describe this to us, master.

3.1.4

For no slight outcome could come from that pure-souled Vidura's / inquiry of that exalted one, reinforced with wise sayings.

3.1.5

Sūta said: / Thus questioned by King Parīkṣit, this foremost of sages, / who knew very much, replied with a delighted heart: "Listen!"

3.1.6

Śrī Śuka said: / When the king, fostering his wicked sons, his vision ruined against dharma, / had the sons of his younger brother, who were without relatives, led into the lac house and burned;

When, in the assembly hall, the king did not prevent the reprehensible act of his son / touching the hair of the Kurus' queen, his daughter-in-law, who was washing away the saffron from her breasts with her own tears;

3.1.8

When Ajātaśatru, a virtuous man clinging to truth, was cheated by unrighteousness at dice and went to the forest, / and [the king], attached to darkness, did not give him his share when he begged for it at the appointed time;

3.1.9

And when Kṛṣṇa, the teacher of the world, sent by Pārtha into the assembly, spoke words / that are fountains of nectar for men, the king, the remnants of his merit destroyed, did not deem them worthy;

3.1.10

When, summoned and entering the palace, [Vidura] was questioned for counsel by his elder brother, / then he, the foremost among those who discern good counsel, spoke what ministers call "Vidura's advice":

3.1.11

"Give back his share to Ajātaśatru, who patiently endures your unbearable offense, / along with his younger brother, the Vṛkodara serpent, who is hissing in fury, of whom you are terribly afraid.

3.1.12

For the sons of Pṛthā are supported by the divine Lord Mukunda, the deity of the brāhmaṇas; / He, the god of the Yadu gods, who has conquered all kings of kings, dwells in His own city.

3.1.13

This flaw, full of hostility toward men, dwells having entered your home, whom, out of thinking him your son, / you nourish, turning your back on Kṛṣṇa, your fortune gone; quickly cast away this ill-omened one for the welfare of your family!"

3.1.14

When he spoke thus there, the chamberlain, of a character yearned for by the virtuous, / was insulted by Suyodhana, whose lip trembled with swelling anger, along with Karṇa, his younger brother, and the son of Subala:

3.1.15

"Who summoned this crooked son of a maidservant here, who is fed by the very sustenance [given by my father], / yet acts against him and does the enemy's bidding? Expel him from the city at once, while he still breathes!"

3.1.16

Leaving his bow at the gate, struck to the core in his brother's presence, / he, thus pierced by the terrible arrows of Karṇa's words, departed without distress, deeming [it] the Lord's creative power.

3.1.17

Departing from Gajāhvaya, attained by the Kauravas' merit, he wandered / over the earth to the sites of Him whose feet are places of pilgrimage, which the thousand-formed Lord occupied in His desire to perform pious deeds.

3.1.18

In cities, holy groves, mountain bowers, and rivers and lakes with clear waters, / adorned with the infinite symbols [of the Lord], he wandered to pilgrim shrines with undivided devotion.

3.1.19

Wandering the earth, his livelihood pure and secluded, bathing constantly, sleeping on the bare ground, an ascetic / unnoticed by his own people, in the dress of an avadhūta, he practiced vows that bring joy to Hari.

3.1.20

Thus travelling through Bhārata-varṣa, by the time he arrived at Prabhāsa, / Pārtha was ruling the earth with a single wheel of sovereignty, under one royal umbrella, aided by the invincible Lord.

3.1.21

There he then heard of the destruction of his kinsmen, like a forest burned down by fire born of rubbing bamboo / through mutual rivalry; grieving for them, he went silently west to the Sarasvatī.

3.1.22

On its banks he visited the sacred places of Trita, Uśanas, Manu, / and Pṛthu, of Agni, Asita, Vāyu, / of Sudās, Go-tīrtha, Guha, and that of Śrāddhadeva.

3.1.23

And other varied sanctuaries of Viṣṇu established here by the best of twice-born and gods, / whose temples were marked with His principal emblems, by the sight of which people remember Kṛṣṇa.

3.1.24

Then, travelling past prosperous Surāṣṭra, Sauvīra, Matsya, and the Kurujāṅgala lands, / he reached the Yamunā in the course of time and there saw Uddhava, the servant of the Lord.

3.1.25

He embraced tightly with affection that calm attendant of Vāsudeva, / the renowned former pupil of Bṛhaspati, and inquired after the welfare / of his own kin, the subjects of the Lord:

3.1.26

"Are the two ancient Puruṣas, who descended here in accordance with the prayer of him born from the navel lotus, / having brought welfare to the earth, dwelling at ease in the house of Śūra, their purpose accomplished?

3.1.27

Does our foremost friend, the brother-in-law of the Kurus, Śauri, dwell happily, my dear friend? / For like a father he gives boons to his sisters, generous in satisfying their desires.

3.1.28

Does the commander of the Yadu forces, the heroic Pradyumna, dwell happily, my dear friend? / Whom Rukmiṇī obtained from the Lord, having propitiated the brāhmaṇas, as Smara in the beginning of creation.

3.1.29

Does the king of the Sātvatas, Vṛṣṇis, Bhojas, and Dāśārhas dwell happily? / Whom the lotus-eyed Lord consecrated, having cast aside from afar His own desire for the kingly throne.

3.1.30

Does the good Sāmba, Hari's worthy son and the foremost of chariot-warriors, dwell happily, gentle one? / Whom the highly vow-observant Jāmbavatī bore, the god Guha born previously from Ambikā.

3.1.31

Is that Yuyudhāna doing well, who learned the archery secrets from Arjuna, / and by service to Adhokṣaja easily attained His realm, so difficult for ascetics to reach?

3.1.32

Is the wise son of Śvaphalka well and free from illness, surrendered to the Lord, / who, his composure shattered by love, rolled in the dust of the path marked with Kṛṣṇa's footprints?

3.1.33

Is Devaka-Bhoja's daughter doing well, like the mother of the gods who has Viṣṇu for her offspring, / she who bore in her womb the Lord, just as the triple Veda bears the sacrificial ritual that yields the goal?

3.1.34

Is the Lord Aniruddha well, the wish-yielding cow of the Sātvatas, / whom they acknowledge as the origin of sacred sound, made of mind, and the fourth principle of pure sattva?

3.1.35

And are the others doing well, gentle friend—Hṛdīka, Satyabhāmā's son, Cārudeṣṇa, Gadā, and the rest— / who follow their own inner deity with undivided devotion?

3.1.36

Does Dharma protect the barrier of dharma by righteousness, with his two arms of Arjuna and Acyuta, / he in whose assembly Duryodhana burned with jealousy at his imperial splendor and Arjuna's devotion?

3.1.37

Or did Bhīma, highly unforgiving, unleash upon the wrongdoers his long-held wrath like a serpent, / he whose footfall the battlefield could not endure as he moved with the wondrous maneuvers of his mace?

3.1.38

Is Arjuna, the bowman of the Gāṇḍīva who brings renown to the charioteers, well, his enemies subdued, / he by the mass of whose arrows Śiva, disguised as an illusion-born Kirāta, was hidden unseen and delighted?

3.1.39

Are the twin sons of Pṛthā, sheltered by the sons of Pṛthā as eyes are by their eyelashes, / rejoicing having wrested their inheritance from the enemy in battle, like two eagles from the mouth of Indra?

3.1.40

Alas, Pṛthā also endures for the sake of her sons, even without that best of royal sages, / who alone, a supreme chariot-warrior with bow in hand, conquered the four quarters!

3.1.41

Gentle friend, I grieve for him who is falling low, who bore malice against his deceased brother, / and by whom I, a well-wisher, was driven from his city as he indulged his own sons.

3.1.42

Yet I, by the grace of Hari who through His human disguise bewilders the vision of men, / wander here unnoticed by others, beholding His course, free from delusion.

3.1.43

Surely, to destroy the kings gone astray from the threefold pride of power and shaking the earth with armies, / the Lord, wishing to remove the affliction of the surrendered, overlooked even the wickedness of the Kurus.

3.1.44

The birth of the Unborn is for the destruction of the astray; the deeds of the non-doer are for the redemption of men. / How else could the One beyond the qualities and beyond the web of karma take on embodiment?

3.1.45

Tell me the news, friend, of Him of holy fame, the Unborn born among the Yadus / for the sake of all the world-guardians who are surrendered and established in His command.

3.2.1

Śrī Śuka said: / Questioned thus by Vidura about news regarding his beloved Lord, / the Bhāgavata was unable to reply, his Lord brought to mind by intense longing.

3.2.2

He who, at five years old, when called by his mother for breakfast, / did not want it, being engaged in worshiping Him in child's play—

3.2.3

how, having grown old in time through His service, / when questioned about news, could he reply, remembering his Master's feet?

3.2.4

For a moment he became silent, deeply absorbed in the nectar of Kṛṣṇa's feet / through intense bhakti-yoga, thoroughly serene.

3.2.5

With his whole body trembling with bristling hair, shedding tears of sorrow from closed eyes, / he was seen to have attained his goal, inundated by the surge of affection.

3.2.6

Slowly returning from the Lord's realm back to the world of mortals, / Uddhava wiped his eyes and, smiling with love, spoke to Vidura.

3.2.7

Uddhava said: / Now that the Kṛṣṇa-sun has set and we have been swallowed by the python of time, / what auspicious news can I tell you of homes bereft of fortune?

3.2.8

Alas, unfortunate is this world, and the Yadus even more so, / who, living together with Hari, did not recognize Him, like fish [not recognizing] the moon!

3.2.9

The Sātvatas, expert in gestures, thoroughly mature, and finding delight in Him alone, / all considered the bull of the Sātvatas to be the abode of all beings.

3.2.10

Those touched by the Lord's creative power, who rely on something else that is unreal, / their intellect is bewildered; not so the minds of those devoted whose self is rooted in Hari.

3.2.11

Having shown to men who had performed no penance and whose eyes were never satiated, / He took back His form, the delight of the world's eyes, and disappeared.

3.2.12

That form, suitable for His mortal play, assumed by displaying the power of His yoga-māyā, / was astonishing even to Himself, the pinnacle of the wealth of charm, an ornament to its very ornaments.

3.2.13

Beholding it at the Rājasūya sacrifice of Dharma's son, the three worlds found it an auspicious feast for the eyes, / and thought that the Creator's skill in fashioning the mortal world had been entirely exhausted there.

3.2.14

Honored by His affectionate smiles and looks during the rāsa-līlā, / the women of Vraja stood motionless, their tasks unfinished, their minds having followed along with their eyes.

3.2.15

When His own peaceful forms are oppressed by others of His forms, with a compassionate heart, / the Lord of the higher and the lower, endowed with His cosmic portion, is born though unborn, like fire [from wood].

3.2.16

This grieves me: the pretense of birth of the Unborn in Vasudeva's house, / and His residence in Vraja as if from fear of the enemy, although He possesses infinite valor, and that He fled the city.

3.2.17

It pains my heart to remember what He said, bowing at the feet of His parents: / 'O father, O mother, in great dread of Kaṃsa, be pleased with us, who have performed no service to you!'

3.2.18

Who could ever forget the dust of His lotus feet after smelling it, / He who, with the twitch of His eyebrow resembling a branch, removed the earth's burden through death?

3.2.19

Indeed, you saw at the Rājasūya sacrifice the perfection achieved by the king of Cedi, though he hated Kṛṣṇa— / that perfection which yogins earnestly desire through yoga; who could endure separation from Him?

3.2.20

And likewise other heroes of the human world, who in battle drank in / with their eyes the lotus face of Kṛṣṇa, delight of the eyes, and purified by Arjuna's weapons, attained His realm.

3.2.21

He is Himself without equal or superior, Lord of the three worlds, / all His desires fulfilled by the majesty of His sovereign rule, His footstool praised by the crowns of countless world-guardians offering tribute.

3.2.22

That service to him utterly exhausts us servants, my dear, when to Ugrasena / standing or seated upon the sovereign throne, [the Lord] would announce: 'Command, O Lord!'"

3.2.23

Ah, she, the wicked sister of Baka, who with desire to kill suckled him with breast[-milk containing] deadly poison, / attained the destination suitable for a foster-mother; what other compassionate [refuge] should we take shelter under than him?

3.2.24

I consider even the demons as Bhāgavatas whose minds were fixed on the master of the three [worlds] through the path of confrontation, / who in battle beheld the son of Tārkṣya with the weapon of good navel [the Sudarśana disc] on his shoulder descending upon them.

3.2.25

Born to Vasudeva from Devakī while in the prison of the king of the Bhojas, / the Lord, implored by the unborn [Brahmā], desired to bring peace to this [earth].

3.2.26

Then brought to the settlement of Nanda by his father who was afraid of Kaṃsa, / he dwelt there with Baladeva for eleven years, his splendor concealed.

3.2.27

Surrounded by calf-herders while grazing calves, the all-powerful Lord sported / in the woodland garden along the Yamunā, whose trees were filled with chirping birds.

3.2.28

Displaying childhood activities delightful to see for the residents of Vraja, / weeping as it were, laughing, with the glance of an innocent lion cub,

3.2.29

he indeed, grazing the wealth of cattle—the abode of Lakṣmī—with their white bulls, / delighted his following cowherds as his flute sounded.

3.2.30

Those deceitful ones sent by the king of the Bhojas, who could assume any form at will, / he dispelled with ease, as a child does with toys.

3.2.31

Subduing the lord of serpents, he revived [the calves and cowherds] who had died from drinking poison, / and made the cattle drink that water which had returned to its natural state.

3.2.32

Through the best of the twice-born, the all-powerful Lord caused the king of cowherds to sacrifice with the offering of cows, / wishing to make proper use of the immense burden of his wealth.

3.2.33

When Indra sent rain in anger, his pride crushed, the settlement was utterly distraught; / it was saved through his divine play with the mountain as an umbrella, as he bestowed auspicious grace.

3.2.34

Honoring the twilight wiped clean by the rays of the autumn moon, / singing sweet melodies, he revelled as the ornament of the circle of women.

3.3.1

Uddhava said: / Then, accompanied by Baladeva, he arrived at the city wishing to bring welfare to his parents, / and throwing down the leader of the host of enemies from his high seat, he dragged him, killed and lifeless, across the ground with his might.

3.3.2

Having learned the complete Veda recited just once by Sāndīpani, / he gave him as a boon his son who had died, [retrieving him] from the belly of Pañcajana.

3.3.3

Summoned by the daughter of Bhīṣmaka to be desired as an equal match of beauty, / while they looked on, he seized his own portion in the Gāndharva manner, placing his foot on their heads like the well-winged bird [Garuḍa].

3.3.4

Taming the humped [bulls] whose noses were unpierced, he married the daughter of Nagnajit at her bridegroom-choice; / though unwounded himself, with his own weapons he struck down the armed men whose pride was crushed and who still greedily attacked like fools.

3.3.5

The Lord, wishing to please his beloved like a common man, went for her sake to obtain the celestial tree; / the wielder of the thunderbolt rushed at him with his host, blinded by anger—surely he is a toy-deer for his wives!

3.3.6

Seeing Earth's son in battle, who swallowed the sky with his body, destroyed by his well-navelled [disc], / and having been addressed by her, he bestowed the remaining [wealth] upon his son and entered his inner quarters.

3.3.7

Seeing Hari, the friend of the afflicted, the daughters of kings who had been carried off there by the son of Earth [Naraka] / immediately rose and received him with glances conveying extreme delight, modesty, and loving affection.

3.3.8

In a single auspicious moment, in different palaces, / he, suitably matching each, took the hands of these women through his creative power.

3.3.9

Upon them he begot offspring equal to himself in every respect, / ten on each, through his desire to expand his creative power.

3.3.10

Kālayavana, the king of Magadha [Jarāsandha], Śālva, and others who besieged the city with armies / he caused to be killed, himself imparting divine splendor to his men.

3.3.11

Śambara, Dvivida, Bāṇa, Mura, and Balvala, / and others like Dantavaktra he slew, and some he caused to be slain.

3.3.12

Then the kings who had fallen into the sides of your brothers' sons [the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas], / as they marched with armies, the earth of Kurukṣetra trembled under them.

3.3.13

Beholding Suyodhana lying with broken thighs on the earth along with his followers, / his fortune and lifespan destroyed by the ripening of the wicked counsel of Karṇa, Duḥśāsana, and Saubala, he felt no joy.

3.3.14

"How much of the earth's heavy burden has been removed, when by these [leaders] rooted in Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Arjuna, and Bhīma / eighteen akṣauhiṇīs [perished], while the irresistible army of the Yadus, portions of myself, remains?

3.3.15

"When a quarrel arises among them, whose eyes are reddened from the intoxication of liquor, / there is no other way to destroy them than this; when I depart, they will disappear of themselves."

3.3.16

Having reflected thus, the Lord installed the son of Dharma on his own throne / and delighted his friends, showing the path of the virtuous.

3.3.17

Carried in Uttarā's womb by virtuous Abhimanyu, the lineage of Pūru / was indeed scorched by the weapon of Droṇa's son, and was again preserved by the Lord.

3.3.18

The all-powerful Lord caused the son of Dharma to perform three horse-sacrifices; / he too, protecting the earth with his younger brothers, found joy, devoted to Kṛṣṇa.

3.3.19

The Lord also, the self of all, following the ways of the world and the Veda, / enjoyed desires in Dvāravatī, unattached, established in Sāṅkhya.

3.3.20

With glances of gentle smiles, with speech like nectar, / with flawless conduct, and with his very self which is the abode of Śrī,

3.3.21

delighting this world and that other, and especially the Yadus, / he revelled at night, his affection granted to the women who were celebrating festive occasions.

3.3.22

As he thus took delight for many sets of years, / dispassion arose [in him] toward the duties and possessions of a householder.

3.3.23

When desires are dependent on fate, and a man is himself dependent on fate, / who that is devoted to the Lord of yoga through yoga would place trust in them?

3.3.24

Once in the city, the sages, who knew the will of the Lord, / were angered by the playing boys of the Yadus and Bhojas and cursed them.

3.3.25

Then, after a few months, the Vṛṣṇis, Bhojas, Andhakas, and others / went joyfully on chariots to Prabhāsa, deluded by fate.

3.3.26

Having bathed there and propitiated the ancestors, the gods, and the sages with its water, / they then gave cows possessed of many good qualities to the brāhmaṇas,

3.3.27

gold, silver, beds, garments, deerskins, blankets, / mounts, chariots, elephants, maidens, and even land that provided a livelihood;

3.3.28

and giving them highly flavorful food offered to the Lord, / those heroes whose very lives were for the cows and brāhmaṇas bowed down to the earth with their heads.

3.4.1

Uddhava said:
Then, permitted by him, having eaten and drunk liquor,
deprived of their senses by it, they struck at one another's vitals with harsh words.

3.4.2

As their minds were agitated by the defect of the wine,
as the sun was setting, their destruction was like that of bamboos [by friction].

3.4.3

The Lord, beholding that course brought about by his own creative power,
sipped the water of the Sarasvatī and sat down at the foot of a tree.

3.4.4

And I was addressed by the Lord, the remover of the distress of the surrendered,
who intended to withdraw his own lineage: “You must proceed to Badarī.”

3.4.5

Even so, though knowing his intent, O subduer of enemies,
unable to bear separation from my master’s feet, I followed behind him.

3.4.6

Searching for my dear master, I saw him sitting alone,
the abode of Śrī, shelterless, taking shelter beside the Sarasvatī,

3.4.7

dark and pure, free from passion, with tranquil, reddish eyes,
recognized by his four arms and yellow silk garments,

3.4.8

resting his lotus-like right foot upon his left thigh,
leaning against a young aśvattha tree, though unattached, having renounced all worldly fruit.

3.4.9

There, an exalted devotee, friend and companion of Dvaipāyana,
a perfected being wandering through the worlds, arrived by chance.

3.4.10

To that devoted sage whose neck was bowed with the emotion of joy,
Mukunda, while the sage was listening, spoke, comforting me with a loving, smiling glance.

3.4.11

The Lord said:
I know what is desired deep in your mind; I grant that to you which is difficult for others to attain.
Formerly, O Vasu, at the sacrificial session of the creators of the universe, desiring to attain me, I was worshipped by you.

3.4.12

This present one, O virtuous one, is the last of your births, because my grace has been attained by you;
for, by your pure devotion, you have fortunately seen me departing secretly from the mortal world.

3.4.13

Long ago, at the primal creation, I proclaimed to the Unborn [Brahmā],
seated on the lotus of my navel, the supreme knowledge revealing my majesty, which the wise call the Bhāgavata.

3.4.14

Addressed thus with honor by the Supreme Person, I, who was every moment the recipient of his grace,
with hairs bristling with affection and faltering speech, shedding tears of grief, spoke with folded hands:

3.4.15

What indeed, O Lord, is difficult to attain among the four aims of life for those who serve your lotus feet here?
Even so, O Infinite One, I choose none of them, eager only to serve your lotus feet.

3.4.16

That you, who are desireless, perform actions; that you, who are unborn, take birth;
that you seek a fortress or flee out of fear of enemies; and that you, the Soul of time, taking delight in your own self, dwell in a household with women—
here the intellect of the wise is bewildered.

3.4.17

That you, whose awareness of the self is unhindered, indivisible, and eternal, summon me in counsels
and inquire, O Lord, as if confused, though you are never unmindful—that, O Divine One, utterly bewilders our mind.

3.4.18

The supreme knowledge revealing the secret of your own self, which you, O Lord, proclaimed in full—to whom was it spoken?
Tell it plainly, Master, if we are fit to receive it, so that we may cross over suffering.

3.4.19

When the desire of my heart had been thus revealed, that Supreme Lord,
the lotus-eyed one, instructed me in the highest state of the self.

3.4.20

Having thus learned the path of knowledge of the true nature of the self from him whose lotus feet are a holy ford to be worshipped,
I bowed to his feet, circumambulated the Lord, and have come here, my heart afflicted by separation.

3.4.21

Filled with the joy of seeing him and the sorrow of separation from him, O master,
I shall go to the sphere of Badaryāśrama, so dear to him,

3.4.22

where the divine Lord Nārāyaṇa and the seer Nara,
the protectors of the world, performed gentle yet severe and prolonged austerities.

3.4.23

Śrī Śuka said:
Having thus heard from Uddhava of the unbearable slaughter of his kinsmen,
the wise Vidura calmed the rising sorrow by means of knowledge.

3.4.24

As that exalted devotee, foremost among the devotees of Kṛṣṇa, was departing,
the bull of the Kurus said this to him out of trust:

3.4.25

Vidura said:
The supreme knowledge revealing the secret of the self, which your Lord, the Master of Yoga, spoke—
you ought to speak that to us, for the servants of Viṣṇu wander solely for the sake of his servants.

3.4.26

Uddhava said:
Surely the sage Kauṣārava, worthy of being approached for the truth, is near you,
having been instructed in person by the Lord when he was about to leave the mortal world.

3.4.27

Śrī Śuka said:
Having thus, together with Vidura, bathed away his great affliction with the nectar of the stories of the qualities of the Lord of all forms,
Uddhava, the son of Upagava, spent that night on the bank of the Yamunā as if it were a single moment, and then departed from there.

3.4.28

The King said:
When the Vṛṣṇis and Bhojas, foremost commanders of great chariot-warriors, met their destruction,
how was it that Uddhava alone remained, when even Hari, the Lord of the three worlds, relinquished his form?

3.4.29

Śrī Śuka said:
Under the pretext of the brāhmaṇas' curse, by means of Time, having an unfailing will,
having destroyed his prosperous family, about to leave his body, he thought:

3.4.30

“When I have departed from this world, Uddhava alone, the best among masters of the self,
is truly fit to receive the knowledge that has me as its foundation.

3.4.31

Uddhava is not inferior to me even by an atom, because, being master of himself, he is not afflicted by the qualities of material nature;
therefore, let him remain here in this world, imparting knowledge of me to the people.”

3.4.32

Thus instructed by the Guru of the three worlds, the source of the Veda,
he reached Badaryāśrama and worshipped Hari through absorption in meditation.

3.4.33

Vidura too, having heard from Uddhava of the praiseworthy deeds of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Self,
who assumed a body in divine play,

3.4.34

and of his relinquishment of the body in that manner—which increases the fortitude of the steadfast,
but is exceedingly difficult to fathom for others, beast-like beings of unsteady mind—

3.4.35

and meditating, O best of Kurus, on how he himself had been remembered in the mind of Kṛṣṇa,
wept, overcome with love, after that devotee had departed.

3.4.36

In a few days, O bull of the Bharatas, that perfected one [Vidura] traveled from the Kālindī
and reached the celestial river [Gaṅgā], where the sage Maitreya, son of Mitrā, resided.

3.5.1

Śrī Śuka said:
Approaching Maitreya of unfathomable wisdom seated on the bank of the heavenly river,
Vidura, the foremost of the Kurus, perfected in his devotional emotion toward Acyuta and fully satisfied by Maitreya’s virtues and good nature, asked:

Translations (1)

The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English

Linked texts (1)

Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit

Bhagavatapurana 3

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