Bhagavatapurana 6.5
English (machine translation) 6.5
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6.5.1
Śrī Śuka said:
In her, the daughter of Pañcajana, strengthened by Viṣṇu's creative power,
that powerful lord begot ten thousand sons known as the Haryaśvas.
6.5.2
All those sons of Dakṣa, sharing the same righteous conduct, O king,
when instructed by their father to create offspring, went to the western region.
6.5.3
There is the sacred ford Nārāyaṇasaras, where the confluence
of the Sindhu and the ocean is very grand, frequented by sages and Siddhas.
6.5.4
Just by bathing there, their minds were cleansed of impurities,
and their thoughts were also directed toward the state of the supreme ascetic;
6.5.5
Bound by their father's command, they performed fierce ascetic penance.
As they were striving for the increase of progeny, the divine sage [Nārada] saw them.
6.5.6
He said: 'O Haryaśvas, how will you create progeny?
You have not seen the end of the earth, yet [you act as] rulers—alas, foolish ones!
6.5.7
Likewise, a realm of one person, a hole with no exit seen,
a woman of manifold forms, and a man who is the husband of an unchaste woman—'
6.5.8
a river flowing both ways, a wondrous house made of five times five, / a swan elsewhere reciting marvelous tales, and a razor-sharp wheel whirling of its own accord—
6.5.9
ignorant of your father’s command, not understanding its true intent, / how, alas, will you proceed with creation, though you consider yourselves wise?
6.5.10
Śrī Śuka said: / Having heard that, the Haryaśvas, with innate intelligence, / carefully reflected in their minds upon the celestial sage’s enigmatic words.
6.5.11
The earth is the field known as the individual soul, which is its own beginningless bondage; / without seeing its cessation, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?
6.5.12
There is only one Ruler, the transcendent fourth state, the Lord, self-supported and supreme; / without seeing Him, who causes the end of rebirth for man, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?
6.5.13
Having entered that cave from which a man never returns, as if entering the netherworld paradise— / for one who does not know that inner abode, what purpose could be served in this world by fleeting actions?
6.5.14
Endowed with the guṇas, the intellect takes diverse forms like an unfaithful woman; / for one who has not attained constancy in the self, what purpose could be served in this world by fleeting actions?
6.5.15
Transmigrating like the husband of a bad wife, his sovereignty lost by association with her— / for an ignorant man who does not understand her movements in this world, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?
6.5.16
Creative power causes creation and dissolution, sweeping along swiftly to its distant shores; / for one bewildered and ignorant of it, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?
6.5.17
The spirit is the wondrous observer of the twenty-five cosmic principles; / for one who is ignorant here of the self within, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?
6.5.18
Abandoning the divine scripture that shows bondage and liberation, / without knowing the secluded state, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?
6.5.19
The sharp wheel of time whirls of itself, dragging away the entire world; / for an ignorant man who does not know it in this world, what purpose could be served by fleeting actions?
6.5.20
He who does not know the scripture, the father’s instruction that leads to cessation— / how could one, trusting in the guṇas, undertake action appropriate to it?
6.5.21
Having thus resolved with one mind, O king, the Haryaśvas / circumambulated him and set out on the path of no return.
6.5.22
Fixing his undivided mind upon the lotus feet of Hṛṣīkeśa, / which shone forth in the sound-Brahman, the sage wandered the worlds.
6.5.23
Hearing of the disappearance of his sons, who were possessed of excellent character, due to Nārada, / Dakṣa lamented, grieving: 'Good offspring is a source of grief!'
6.5.24
Consoled by the unborn Brahmā, Dakṣa once again / fathered one thousand sons, the Savalāśvas, upon Pāñcajanī.
6.5.25
Directed by their father and resolved upon the creation of offspring, / they went to Lake Nārāyaṇa-saras, where their elder brothers had attained perfection.
6.5.26
Merely by bathing there, with the impurities of their minds cleansed, / chanting the supreme Brahman, they performed great austerities there.
6.5.27
Subsisting on water for some months, and feeding on air for some, / they worshipped the Lord of speech, repeating this mantra:
6.5.28
"Om, salutations to Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Spirit, the Great Self, / whose abode is pure sattva, the Great Swan: upon Him we meditate."
6.5.29
As they too, O best of kings, were intent upon the creation of offspring, the sage / Nārada approached them and spoke enigmatic words just as before:
6.5.30
"Listen well, sons of Dakṣa, to the precept I speak: / affectionate toward your brothers, seek the path taken by your brothers.
6.5.31
A brother who knows dharma and follows the path of his brothers— / that man, a true friend to virtue, rejoices with the Maruts."
6.5.32
Having said this much, Nārada of unfailing vision departed; / and they too followed the very path of their brothers, O noble one.
6.5.33
They departed along the path leading directly inward to the Supreme; / even to this day they do not return, like nights that have passed.
6.5.34
At that time, seeing many evil omens, the Prajāpati / heard of the loss of his sons, caused as before by Nārada.
6.5.35
He became furious with Nārada, fainting in sorrow for his sons; / finding the celestial sage, his lower lip trembling with rage, he spoke:
6.5.36
Śrī Dakṣa said: / Ah, you wicked man disguised as the virtuous! An unrighteous deed / you have done to us, showing our boys the mendicant’s path!
6.5.37
To those not yet freed from the three debts, who have not reflected on rites, / you have done harm, O sinner, impeding their welfare in both worlds.
6.5.38
Thus pitiless, corrupting the minds of boys, / you roam shameless among Hari's attendants, destroying His renown.
6.5.39
Indeed, Bhāgavatas are ever anxious to show mercy to living beings; / you alone are excepted, a destroyer of friendship who creates enmity among the non-envious.
6.5.40
Dispassion does not arise in men in this way; you, an isolated ascetic, falsely / imagine that tranquility is the cutting of affection's bonds.
6.5.41
Without experiencing them, a man does not realize the harshness of sense objects; / one becomes detached on one's own, not so when one's intellect is subverted by others.
6.5.42
Though you did an unbearable wrong to us, / virtuous householders committed to ritual duties, it was forgiven you.
6.5.43
Severer of lineages, because you have again done us harm, / therefore, you fool, as you wander the worlds, there shall be no resting place for you!
6.5.44
Śrī Śuka said: / Nārada, revered by the virtuous, accepted that, saying: 'So be it!' / Such indeed is the behavior of the virtuous: capable though he was, he endured it himself.
Translations (1)
- The Srimad Bhagavatam — S. Subba Rau 1928, English
Linked texts (1)
- Bhāgavatapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit