Bhagavatapurana 4.1

English (machine translation) 4.1

Language: English

4.1.1

Maitreya said:
To Manu through Śatarūpā three daughters were born,
famed as Ākūti, Devahūti, and Prasūti.

4.1.2

The king gave Ākūti to Ruci, even though she had brothers,
by resorting to the rule of a appointed daughter, with the approval of Śatarūpā.

4.1.3

That lord of creatures, the lord Ruci, endowed with spiritual splendor,
begot upon her twins through supreme absorption [of mind].

4.1.4

The male among the two was Viṣṇu himself, bearing the form of sacrifice,
and the female was Dakṣiṇā, an inseparable portion of the goddess of fortune.

4.1.5

Svāyambhuva, filled with joy, took home the daughter’s son of vast radiance,
and Ruci accepted Dakṣiṇā.

4.1.6

The Lord, the master of the Yajur-mantras, married her who desired him;
and, finding pleasure in her who was pleased, he begot twelve sons:

4.1.7

Toṣa, Pratoṣa, Saṃtoṣa, Bhadra, Śānti, Iḍaspati,
Idhma, Kavi, Vibhu, Svahna, Sudeva, and Rocana—the twelve.

4.1.8

Those gods were called the Tuṣitas during the period of Svāyambhuva Manu;
Marīci and the others were the sages, and Yajña was the ruler of the host of gods.

4.1.9

Priyavrata and Uttānapāda were Manu’s two sons of great power;
through their sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons, that manvantara continued.

4.1.10

Dear friend, Manu gave his daughter Devahūti to Kardama;
what relates to that has largely been heard by you as I spoke.

4.1.11

The lord Manu gave Prasūti to Dakṣa, the son of Brahmā,
whose vast creation spread throughout the three worlds.

4.1.12

Now listen to me as I describe the offspring and descendants of those nine daughters of Kardama
who were said to be the wives of the Brahmanical sages.

4.1.13

Kalā, the daughter of Kardama and wife of Marīci, gave birth to
Kaśyapa and Pūrṇimā, by whom the world was filled.

4.1.14

Pūrṇimā gave birth to Viraja and Viśvaga, O scorcher of foes,
and to Devakulyā, who became the river of heaven from the washing of Hari’s feet.

4.1.15

Atri’s wife Anasūyā gave birth to three sons of illustrious fame:
Datta, Durvāsas, and Soma, born from the portions of the Supreme Self, the Lord [Śiva], and Brahmā.

4.1.16

Vidura said:
O teacher, tell me this: why did the foremost gods, the causes of maintenance, creation, and destruction,
take birth in the house of Atri, desiring to do something?

4.1.17

Maitreya said: / Urged by Brahmā toward creation, Atri, the best among knowers of Brahman, / accompanied by his wife, went to Mount Ṛkṣa, established in austerity.

4.1.18

There, in a forest of palāśa and aśoka trees with clusters of blossoms, / resounded all around by the flowing waters of the Nirvindhyā,

4.1.19

Restraining his mind by control of the breath for a hundred years, / the sage stood on one foot, free from dualities, subsisting on air,

4.1.20

Thinking: "I take refuge in him who is the lord of the universe; / let him grant me offspring equal to himself."

4.1.21

Seeing the three worlds tormented by the fire fueled by breath control / which issued from the head of the sage, the three lords

4.1.22

Went to that hermitage, / their fame celebrated by Apsarases, sages, Gandharvas, Siddhas, Vidyādharas, and Uragas.

4.1.23

His mind illuminated by the contact of their manifestation, / the sage, rising on one foot, beheld the foremost of the gods,

4.1.24

Bowing like a staff to the ground, he worshipped with folded hands of reverence / those mounted on a bull, a swan, and Suparṇa, each marked with his own insignia,

4.1.25

Brought near with gracious glances and smiling faces; / with his eyes blinded by their splendor, the sage closed them,

4.1.26

Directing his attentive mind toward them, with hands joined together, / he praised those greatest in all the worlds with gentle, well-spoken words.

Atri said: / "Assuming bodies age after age through the qualities of your creative power, / which are apportioned in the creation, maintenance, and dissolution of the universe, / you are Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Giriśa. I bow to you. / Which one of you has been summoned here by me?

4.1.28

For here the one Lord was brought to mind by me / for the sake of procreation through various vital breaths. How is it that all of you / have come here from far beyond the mind of embodied beings? / Tell me, be gracious! Great is my wonder in this matter."

4.1.29

Maitreya said: / Hearing his words, those three foremost of the gods / smiled and replied to that sage in gentle speech, O lord.

4.1.30

The gods said: / "Just as your resolve was made, so must it come to pass, not otherwise; / for you whose resolve is true, O Brahman, whatever you meditated upon, that we are.

4.1.31

Therefore, born as portions of us, your sons / will be renowned throughout the world, dear one; may good fortune be yours! And they will spread your fame."

4.1.32

Having thus granted the desired boon, the lords of the gods returned, / having been duly honored by the couple while both looked on.

4.1.33

Soma was born from a portion of Brahmā, and Datta, knower of yoga, from Viṣṇu; / Durvāsas was a portion of Śaṅkara. Learn now the offspring of Aṅgiras.

4.1.34

Śraddhā, the wife of Aṅgiras, gave birth to four daughters: / Sinīvālī, Kuhū, Rākā, and the fourth, Anumati.

4.1.35

His other two sons were renowned in the Svārociṣa period: / the Lord Utathya in person, and Bṛhaspati, the most devoted to Brahman.

4.1.36

Pulastya begot Agastya in his wife Havirbhū, / who in another birth was the fire of digestion, and Viśravas of great ascetic fervor.

4.1.37

His son by Iḍaviḍā was the divine Kubera, lord of the Yakṣas; / and by another [wife he had] Rāvaṇa, Kumbhakarṇa, and Vibhīṣaṇa.

4.1.38

Gati, the virtuous wife of Pulaha, gave birth to three sons: / Karmaśreṣṭha, Varīyas, and Sahiṣṇu, O noble-minded one.

4.1.39

Kriyā, the wife of Kratu, gave birth to the Vālakhilyas, / sixty thousand sages blazing with the power of Brahman.

4.1.40

From Ūrjā were born the sons of Vasiṣṭha, O tormentor of enemies, / seven spotless seers of Brahman, foremost among whom was Citraketu:

4.1.41

Citraketu, Surocis, Virajas, Mitra, / Ulbaṇa, Vasubhṛdyāna, Dyumat, and others such as Śakti.

4.1.42

Citti, the wife of Atharvan, obtained a son firm in his vows: / Dadhyañc, with the head of a horse. Learn from me the lineage of Bhṛgu.

4.1.43

The greatly blessed Bhṛgu begot sons in his wife Khyāti: / Dhātṛ and Vidhātṛ, and Śrī, devoted to the Lord.

4.1.44

Meru gave his two daughters, Āyati and Niyati, to the two of them; / by those two wives, the two had Mṛkaṇḍa and Prāṇa.

4.1.45

Mārkaṇḍeya was the son of Mṛkaṇḍa, and the sage Vedaśiras was from Prāṇa; / and the Bhārgava Kavi, whose son was the lord Uśanas.

4.1.46

All these sages, O Kṣattṛ, populated the worlds with their creations. / This lineage of the daughters' sons of Kardama has been related to you; / when heard with faith, it immediately removes all sins, being supreme.

4.1.47

Dakṣa, born of the Unborn, married Prasūti, the daughter of Manu; / in her he begot sixteen daughters with spotless eyes.

4.1.48

The lord gave thirteen to Dharma, and one to Agni; / one to the ancestor Pitṛs, and one to Bhava, who cuts off mundane existence.

4.1.49

Śraddhā, Maitrī, Dayā, Śānti, Tuṣṭi, Puṣṭi, Kriyā, Unnati, / Buddhi, Medhā, Titikṣā, Hrī, and Mūrti were the wives of Dharma.

4.1.50

Śraddhā gave birth to Śubha; Maitrī to Prasāda; Dayā to Abhaya; / Śānti bore Sukha; Tuṣṭi bore Muda; and Puṣṭi gave birth to Smaya.

4.1.51

Kriyā gave birth to Yoga; Unnati to Darpa; Buddhi gave birth to Artha; / Medhā to Smṛti; Titikṣā to Kṣema; and Hrī bore a son, Praśraya.

4.1.52

Mūrti, the origin of all virtues, [bore] the two sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa,

4.1.53

At whose birth this entire universe rejoiced, fully serene; / minds, directions, winds, rivers, and mountains became tranquil.

4.1.54

Musical instruments sounded in the heavens, showers of flowers fell, / delighted sages sang hymns, and Gandharvas and Kinnaras sang.

4.1.55

Divine women danced, and there was supreme auspiciousness; / all the gods, headed by Brahmā, approached with hymns of praise.

4.1.56

The gods said: / "Obeisance to that supreme Person who, through his own creative power, / has now manifested in the abode of Dharma as the form of a sage, / to reveal this [universe] created within himself like diverse forms in the sky.

4.1.57

May that one whose truth is inferred, with a glance of abundant compassion / that eclipses the spotless lotus, the abode of Śrī, / look upon us, the host of gods created from purity to quell the disturbance of cosmic stability."

4.1.58

Thus praised by the hosts of gods, my dear, the two Lords, / having granted their gaze and being worshipped, departed for Gandhamādana.

4.1.59

These two, portions of the Lord Hari, indeed came here / to relieve the burden of the earth—the two Kṛṣṇas, the foremost of the Yadus and the Kurus.

4.1.60

And Svāhā bore to Agni, the deity presiding [over fire], three sons: / Pāvaka, Pavamāna, and Śuci, the consumers of sacrificial offerings.

4.1.61

From them arose forty-five fires; / together with their fathers and grandfather, they make forty-nine in all.

4.1.62

By whose names in the sacrificial rites the knowers of the Veda / designate the fires in the offerings made to Agni—they are indeed those fires.

4.1.63

The Agniṣvāttas, the Barhiṣads, the Saumyas, and the Ājyapas are the ancestors, / some with fire and some without fire. Their wife was Svadhā, daughter of Dakṣa.

4.1.64

Svadhā bore to them two daughters: Vayunā and Dhāriṇī, / both of whom were knowers of Brahman and had mastered knowledge and experiential realization.

4.1.65

Bhava's wife, however, Satī, devoted to the god Bhava, / did not obtain a son equal to herself in virtues and character.

4.1.66

Because her own father was displeased with the innocent Bhava, in anger, / while still in her youth, she gave up her body by herself through yoga.

Translations (1)

The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English

Linked texts (1)

Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit