Bhagavatapurana 4.20

English (machine translation) 4.20

Language: English

4.20.1

Maitreya said:
The Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, the all-pervading Master and Enjoyer of sacrifices, / pleased with the sacrifices, along with Indra, spoke to him:

4.20.2

The Lord said:
This [Indra] caused an interruption to your hundredth horse-sacrifice; / since he begs for pardon, you ought to forgive him.

4.20.3

The wise, virtuous, and foremost among men in the world, O king of men, / do not bear malice toward living beings, seeing that the self is not the body.

4.20.4

If men such as you are bewildered by the divine creative power, / then the long-standing service to elders has resulted merely in weariness!

4.20.5

Therefore, knowing that this body is produced
by ignorance, desire, and action, the awakened man does not become attached to it.

4.20.6

Detached from this body, what wise man
would claim ownership over the house, children, or wealth produced by it?

The self is one, pure, self-luminous, devoid of qualities, yet the refuge of the qualities,
all-pervading, unveiled, the witness, free from [another] self, the self [of all], and beyond the self [of body and mind].

4.20.8

The person who knows this self existing thus within himself,
though abiding in material nature, is not tainted by its qualities, being situated in Me.

4.20.9

He who continually worships Me through his own dharma,
free from desires and endowed with faith—gradually, O king, his mind becomes serene.

4.20.10

Having abandoned the qualities, with perfect vision and a pure heart,
he attains My peace, steadfast composure, Brahman, and absolute liberation.

4.20.11

He who knows this self as indifferent, as it were, the overseer
of matter, knowledge, and action, and unchanging—he attains what is auspicious.

4.20.12

The flow of qualities belongs to the distinct subtle body, which consists of matter, action, agents, and consciousness.
Wise men whose friendship is fixed in Me are not disturbed when prosperity or adversity is seen.

4.20.13

Equanimous toward equals, superiors, middling persons, and inferiors, in pleasure and in pain, with senses and mind conquered,
accompanied by all the people provided by Me, O hero, carry out the protection of all the worlds.

4.20.14

For a king, protecting the subjects is the highest good, since in the next world he takes a sixth part of their merit;
otherwise, a collector of taxes who fails to protect is deprived of his subjects' merit and eats their sin.

4.20.15

Living thus, devoted foremost to dharma practiced with the approval of foremost brāhmaṇas, as the protector of this [earth],
in a short time you will see perfected beings come to your home, and your people will be devoted to you.

4.20.16

And choose from Me whatever boon you wish, O king of men; I am bound by your virtues and character.
I am not easily attained by sacrifices, austerities, or yoga, for I dwell in the heart that is equanimous."

4.20.17

Maitreya said:
Having thus been instructed by Viṣvaksena, the teacher of the world, he who conquered the universe
received Hari’s command upon his head.

4.20.18

Touching Indra's feet with love, Indra being ashamed of his own deed,
[Pṛthu] embraced him of a hundred sacrifices and indeed cast away all enmity.

4.20.19

Then the Lord, the self of the universe, having received worship from Pṛthu,
his lotus feet held with overflowing devotion,

4.20.20

though about to depart, held back by grace as He looked upon him,
the lotus-petal-eyed friend of virtuous devotees did not depart.

4.20.21

The first king, with folded hands and tear-filled eyes, was unable to look upon Hari;
choking with tears, he said nothing, but embracing Him in his heart, he stood still.

4.20.22

Then, wiping away his tears, gazing at the Person before his insatiable sight,
who was touching the earth with His foot and resting His fingertips on the high shoulder of Garuda, the enemy of snakes, he spoke.

4.20.23

Pṛthu said:
"O all-pervading Lord, master of bestowers of boons, how could a wise man choose boons from You that consist of the transformations of the qualities,
which belong even to embodied beings in hell? Nor do I choose them, O ruler, master of absolute liberation!

4.20.24

I do not desire, O Lord, even that place where the nectar of Your lotus feet
does not fall from the mouths [of devotees] from the inner hearts of the greatest devotees. Bestow on me ten thousand ears—this is my boon.

4.20.25

That wind carrying drops of nectar of Your lotus feet, falling from the mouths of the great, O He of highest renown,
restores memory to bad yogins who have forgotten the path of truth—to us, such boons are enough.

4.20.26

Who that knows what is good, O Lord of fair renown, hearing Your auspicious fame even once by chance in the company of the noble,
would ever turn away, unless he were a beast? For Śrī, desiring to accumulate virtues, chose [You].

4.20.27

Therefore, yearning, I worship You, the supreme Person of all, the abode of virtues, just as [Lakṣmī] who holds a lotus in her hand;
yet may there be no quarrel between the two of us who rival for one husband, both having fixed our minds solely on Your feet.

4.20.28

There may indeed be rivalry with the mother of the universe, O Lord of the universe, in whatever service is our desire;
yet compassionate to the wretched, You make even the meager into something great; what need has She of You, who delight in Your own realm?

4.20.29

Therefore, virtuous devotees worship You, from whom the arising of the bewilderment of the qualities of creative power has been cast off;
apart from remembering Your feet, O Lord, we know of no other cause for virtuous devotees [to worship].

4.20.30

I consider Your words, 'Choose a boon,' addressed to one who worships You, to be bewildering to the worlds;
for if man were not bound by the cord of Your word, how would he, bewildered, perform actions again and again?

4.20.31

Indeed, O Lord, a person is misled by Your creative power when, foolish, he prays for anything other than the true self;
just as a father would himself act for the welfare of his child, so You alone ought to act according to what is good for us."

4.20.32

Maitreya said:
Praised thus by the first king, the all-seeing Lord said to him: 'O King, may you have devotion to Me.
By good fortune such an intellect has been formed by you toward Me, by which one crosses beyond My creative power, which is difficult to abandon.

Translations (1)

The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English

Linked texts (1)

Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit