Bhagavatapurana 6.3
English (machine translation) 6.3
- Language
- English
Contents
- 6.3.23 — 1 part
- 6.3.24 — 3 parts
- 6.3.25 — 3 parts
- 6.3.26 — 3 parts
- 6.3.27 — 3 parts
- 6.3.28 — 3 parts
- 6.3.29 — 3 parts
- 6.3.30 — 1 part
- 6.3.32 — 1 part
- 6.3.33 — 3 parts
- 6.3.34 — 1 part
6.3.1
Nowhere before was any breaking of the rod of punishment of the god Yama ever heard of, O seer;
this doubt of the world, O sage, no one other than you can sever; such is my firm conviction.
6.3.2
Śrī Śuka said:
O King, with their effort frustrated by the Lord’s persons, the servants of Yama
informed their master, Yama, the lord of Saṃyamanī.
6.3.3
The messengers of Yama said:
How many rulers are there here in the world of living beings, O lord,
who cause the manifestation of results for one performing threefold action?
6.3.4
If there should be many rulers wielding the staff of punishment in the world,
for whom would there be death, or for whom not, or immortality itself?
6.3.5
Moreover, if there are many rulers for the many performers of action here,
rulership would be merely a figurative title, like that of local governors.
6.3.6
Therefore, you alone are the supreme master of all beings, along with their lords,
the ruler, the wielder of the staff of punishment for men, the judge of good and evil.
6.3.7
The punishment ordained by you does not hold good in the world now:
your command has been deceived by four wondrous perfected beings!
6.3.8
Severing your nooses by force, they released the sinner
as he was being led by us by your order to the chambers of torment.
6.3.9
We wish to know about them from you, if you deem it proper for us;
when ‘Nārāyaṇa’ was uttered, they arrived swiftly, saying, ‘Do not fear!’”
6.3.10
The son of Bādarāyaṇa said:
Thus questioned, that god Yama, the restrainer of creatures,
pleased, replied to his messengers, remembering the lotus foot of Hari:
6.3.11
Yama said:
“There is another, higher than me, of the moving and unmoving world, in whom the universe is woven warp and woof like cloth,
by a fraction of whom are its preservation, birth, and destruction, and under whose control is the world, like a bull woven through the nose.
6.3.12
He who binds mankind with names in His Vedic speech as [one binds] cattle with ropes to a main cord;
to Him these [beings], bound by the bonds of name and action, offer tribute in awe.
6.3.13
I, Mahendra, Nirṛti, Pracetas, Soma, Agni, Īśa, Pavana, Viriñci,
the Ādityas, the Viśvedevas, the Vasus, then the Sādhyas, the hosts of Maruts, the hosts of Rudras with the Siddhas,
6.3.14
and those other creators of the universe, chiefs of immortals, Bhṛgu and the rest, untouched by passion and darkness—
even they, though predominated by purity, do not know His intention, touched as they are by creative power; how much less can others?
6.3.15
Him indeed living beings do not perceive with the senses, mind, vital breaths,
heart, or speech—He who is the Self abiding within the heart of selves, just as forms do not see the eye, which is beyond them.
6.3.16
Of that self-dependent Hari, the supreme sovereign, the high master of creative power, the Great Self,
messengers mostly wander here, handsome, possessing His form, virtues, and nature.
6.3.17
The attendants of Viṣṇu, worshiped by the gods, of marks difficult to perceive, greatly wondrous,
protect mortals who possess devotion to Him from enemies, from me, and from all sides.”
6.3.18
The beings of Viṣṇu, worshiped by the gods, whose forms are difficult to see, exceedingly wondrous, / protect those devoted to Him from enemies, from me, and from mortals on every side.
6.3.19
Dharma, however, instituted directly by the Lord, the sages do not know, nor do the gods, / nor the foremost Siddhas, Asuras, or humans; how then the Vidyādharas, Cāraṇas, and the rest?
6.3.20
Svayambhū, Nārada, Śambhu, Kumāra, Kapila, Manu,
Prahlāda, Janaka, Bhīṣma, Bali, the son of Vyāsa, and we ourselves:
6.3.21
these twelve know the dharma of the Bhāgavatas, O soldiers—
secret, pure, and difficult to comprehend, knowing which one attains immortality.
6.3.22
Only this much in this world is considered supreme dharma for human beings:
the yoga of devotion to the Lord, beginning with the chanting of his name.
6.3.23
Behold the majesty of uttering the name of Hari, my sons,
by which alone even Ajāmila was released from the noose of death!
6.3.23.p1
Communal chanting of the names, qualities, and deeds of the Lord is quite sufficient to wipe away the sins of human beings,
6.3.24
since even the sinful Ajāmila, crying out to his son 'Nārāyaṇa!' as he died, attained liberation.
6.3.24.p1
[…]
6.3.24.p2
Generally, ordinary folk do not know this, their minds thoroughly deluded by the divine creative power, alas!
6.3.24.p3
Generally, ordinary folk do not know this, their minds thoroughly deluded by the divine creative power, alas!
6.3.25
Stupefied in their intelligence by the threefold Veda with its flowery promises of sweet reward, they engage in vast sacrificial rites.
6.3.25.p1
[…]
6.3.25.p2
Considering this, the wise surely direct the yoga of devotional emotion with their whole being toward the infinite Lord;
6.3.25.p3
Considering this, the wise surely direct the yoga of devotional emotion with their whole being toward the infinite Lord;
6.3.26
they do not deserve punishment from me, and even if they incur a sin, uttering the name of Him of wide renown destroys it.
6.3.26.p1
[…]
6.3.26.p2
Those virtuous devotees who have surrendered to the Lord, viewing all equally, whose purifying stories are sung by gods and Siddhas,
6.3.26.p3
Those virtuous devotees who have surrendered to the Lord, viewing all equally, whose purifying stories are sung by gods and Siddhas,
6.3.27
do not approach them, who are protected by Hari's mace; neither we nor time have the power to punish them.
6.3.27.p1
[…]
6.3.27.p2
Bring those wicked ones who have turned their faces away from the nectar of Mukunda’s lotus feet,
6.3.27.p3
Bring those wicked ones who have turned their faces away from the nectar of Mukunda’s lotus feet,
6.3.28
relished continually by detached supreme ascetics who possess nothing, and who remain bound by thirst to household life, which is the path to hell.
6.3.28.p1
[…]
6.3.28.p2
The tongue that does not speak the Lord's names and qualities, the mind that does not remember his lotus feet,
6.3.28.p3
The tongue that does not speak the Lord's names and qualities, the mind that does not remember his lotus feet,
6.3.29
and the head that does not bow even once to Kṛṣṇa—bring those wicked ones, who have never performed an act of worship to Viṣṇu!
6.3.29.p1
[…]
6.3.29.p2
Therefore, may that Lord, the ancient person Nārāyaṇa, forgive the improper act committed by us through our servants.
6.3.29.p3
Therefore, may that Lord, the ancient person Nārāyaṇa, forgive the improper act committed by us through our servants.
6.3.30
Ah, for one's own people who do not know and who fold their hands, there is forbearance in the supreme one. Homage to the infinite Person!
6.3.30.p1
[…]
6.3.31
Therefore, O Kauravya, know that the communal chanting of Viṣṇu's [names], which brings blessings to the world, is the absolute atonement
even for the greatest sins.
6.3.32
The self is not purified by vows and the like as it is by well-developed devotion,
for those who continually hear and recite the boundless heroic exploits of Hari.
6.3.32.p1
A bee drinking the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet takes no delight in the qualities produced by creative power that bring sorrow;
6.3.33
but another person, smitten by desire, may endeavor by karmic action to cleanse his own passion, from which passion arises once again.
6.3.33.p1
[…]
6.3.33.p2
Recalling thus the Lord’s greatness spoken by their master, their minds filled with astonishment, those servants of Yama,
6.3.33.p3
Recalling thus the Lord’s greatness spoken by their master, their minds filled with astonishment, those servants of Yama,
6.3.34
never again harbored suspicion toward those who take refuge in Acyuta, and from then on, O King, they feared even to look upon them.
6.3.34.p1
[…]
6.3.35
The venerable pot-born [sage Agastya], seated on Mount Malaya and worshiping Hari,
related this secret narrative.
Translations (1)
- The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English
Commentaries (1)
- Bhāgavatapurāṇaṭīkā — Vaṃśīdhara 1630, Sanskrit
Linked texts (1)
- Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit