Garudapurana 2.6

The glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa — [Chapter] 6
Garuḍa said:
Even for one endowed with spiritual means and devoted to holy places and gifts, / if the release of a bull is not performed, there is indeed no passage to the other world.

Therefore, O Kṛṣṇa, I have heard that the release of a bull must be performed. / What is the fruit of the bull-sacrifice, and by whom was it performed formerly, O Hari?

Of what kind is the bull described to be, and especially at what time? / What ritual is prescribed for it? Please tell me everything out of compassion.

The Blessed Kṛṣṇa said:
I shall narrate a most sacred traditional history, O King of Birds, / which was told by the son of Brahmā to King Vīravāhana.

In the city of Virādha, there was a king named Vīravāhana, / righteous-souled, true to his word, generous, and a source of delight to brahmins.

Once, having gone to the forest on a hunt, that noble hero, / wishing to ask something, O Tārkṣya, went to the hermitage of Vasiṣṭha.

Bowing to the sage there and taking a seat, / bowed down with modesty, the king asked in the assembly of ṛṣis.

The king said:
O sage, dharma has been performed by me with effort according to my ability; / yet having heard the judgment of Yama, I am utterly terrified in my heart.

So that I may not see Yama, the messengers of Yama, / and the hells of dreadful appearance, speak [to me], O fortunate one, ocean of mercy!

Vasiṣṭha said:
Dharmas of many kinds, O King, are described by those skilled in the scriptures; / deluded by the path of ritual actions, they do not understand on account of [their] subtlety.

Giving, pilgrimage, austerity, sacrifices, renunciation, and ancestral rites— / among the dharmas that are practiced, the release of a bull is distinguished.

Many sons are to be desired, [hoping] that even one might go to Gayā, / or perform a horse sacrifice, or release a dark-blue bull.

Sins such as killing a brahmin, committed knowingly or unknowingly, / are cleansed indeed by marrying a dark-blue [bull] or by bathing in the ocean.

On the eleventh day, O king of kings, for whomsoever a bull is not released, / his ghosthood is permanent; what use are śrāddhas performed [for him]?

Somehow or other it must be performed, at a holy site or in a city; / through bull-sacrifices one is liberated, not otherwise through [other] means, O bird.

A five-auspicious-marked, youthful bull with a black blanket[-like dewlap], / constantly wandering among a herd of cows, according to the rule,

having wedded [him] with four, two, or even one heifer, O bird, / with auspicious items, one should release him with mantras.

One should offer a homa into the fire with the six verses beginning with 'iha ratiḥ', / on the full moon of Kārttika, Māgha, or Vaiśākha, at a solstice, or on eclipses and conjunctions.

At a holy site, and on the day of the father's death, it is especially praised. / But one that is red in color, and white on the face and tail,

and yellow on the hooves and horns, that is called a dark-blue bull. / A white-colored one belongs to a brahmin, a red one is declared for a kṣatriya,

a yellow-colored one belongs to a vaiśya, and a black one is remembered by the wise for a śūdra; / [each] is prescribed according to caste, among the castes beginning with brahmins.

Alternatively, a red-colored one is praised for everyone. / The father, the grandfather, and likewise the great-grandfather

hope for a son born [who] will perform the release of a bull: / 'You are dharma in the form of a bull, conferring joy upon the world;

you are the abode of the Eight-formed [Śiva]; therefore grant peace to me! / Drink of the Gaṅgā and Yamunā, and graze on the grass in the intermediate altar-land!

Before the King of Dharma, my good deeds must be spoken, O bull!' / Marked with a trident on the right shoulder, and branded with a discus on the left thigh,

having thus prayed to the bull, with fragrant paste, flowers, unbroken rice grains, and the like, / having worshipped the bull accompanied by the heifers, one should release it.

Therefore, O King, perform the release of a bull according to the ritual; / even for one endowed with many means, there is otherwise no good destination for you.

Formerly, in the Tretāyuga, in the city of Videha, O King, / there was a brahmin named Dharmavatsa, intent on his own duties and wise,

a devotee of Viṣṇu, exceedingly radiant, content with whatever was obtained; / when the ancestral new-moon day arrived, he went to the forest for the sake of kuśa grass.

Wandering here and there there, gathering kuśa grass and palāśa leaves, / four men of handsome appearance, suddenly approaching,

seized him whose mind was bewildered and went westward through the sky, / filled with many trees, formidable with mountain fortresses,

and led him from forest to forest, crowded with rivers and streams. / There, O King, he saw an immense city,

built with gateway towers, adorned with mansions and palaces, / crowded with courtyards, shops, merchandise, men, and women,

resounding with the sounds of paired horns, lutes, and drums. / [He saw] some afflicted with hunger, wretched, dirty, and devoid of vigor,

and then others exceedingly contented, dirty, covered with rags of cloth; / and ahead, [he saw] joyful, well-nourished ones, adorned with gold and garments,

and even beyond them, ones resembling gods; seeing them, he was astonished: / 'Is this a dream, or an illusion, or my own mental delusion?'

The men led the doubting twice-born into the presence of the king. / In a golden palace-mansion, the brahmin saw

a most divine throne, fanned with an umbrella and chowries; / seated upon it was the king, radiant with a diadem and gold,

endowed with great majesty, being praised by excellent bards. / The king, too, seeing that brahmin, rose up with folded hands,

and worshipped him according to rule with madhuparka, a seat, and other offerings; / with supreme joy, he praised the godlike [brahmin] whose mind was contented:

'Today my birth is fruitful, and my lineage is purified, O lord, / because I, a devotee of Viṣṇu and of dharma, have come into your sight!'

Having bowed and praised him in many ways, the king residing nearby said: / 'From where the divine one came, let him be taken back right there.'

Hearing this speech of the king, the best of the twice-born asked. / The brahmin said: / 'What country is this? From where are these highest, middling, and lowest people?

By what merit are you adorned with supreme sovereignty? / For what purpose was I brought, and [now] am being taken back right there?

I see everything as if unprecedented, like one in a dream.' / The king said: / 'He who is intent on his own duty and always devoted to Hari's devotion,

detached from sense-objects, he is worthy of my worship, without a doubt. / One who is constantly devoted to pilgrimage, knowing the specific rite of releasing a bull,

and devoted to truth and charity, he is to be bowed to by the denizens of heaven. / You were brought here for the sake of seeing [you], and you are worthy of worship, O scorcher of foes!'

"Be gracious to me, O god, and forgive my rashness." / Having spoken thus, he indicated to his ministers with a signal of his brows:

"He will tell you everything; it is not fitting for [me] myself to speak." / And the feudatory king, who knew all the Vedas, understanding the king's heart,

Vipaścit said: / "In a previous birth this man was a vaiśya known as Viśvambhara, / in the city of Virādha, O brāhmaṇa, adorned with twice-born and gods,

always living by the trade of a vaiśya, maintaining his family, / constantly serving cows, and honouring brāhmaṇas,

ever devoted to giving to worthy recipients, attending upon guests and the sacred fires. / He led the householder's life according to rule, together with his wife of truthful intellect.

He conquered worlds through smārta rites, and the fire-gods through śrauta rites. / Once, having visited numerous sacred places with his relatives,

just as he was returning home, he saw Lomaśa on the road. / Falling prostrate like a staff and standing with folded hands,

the ocean of waters of compassion questioned him who was full of humility. / The sage said: / 'From where do you come, O good man, accompanied by brāhmaṇas and relatives?

Seeing you, an abode of dharma, my mind is softened with affection.' / Viśvambhara said: / 'Knowing indeed that the body is decaying and death stands before me,

I departed on pilgrimage together with my wife who follows dharma. / Having visited sacred places according to rule and distributed vast wealth,

just as I am returning home, you have come into the range of my sight.' / Lomaśa said: / 'Many are the sacred places in this auspicious realm of Bhārata.

Tell me all those that were visited by you.' / The vaiśya said: / 'The Gaṅgā, the daughter of the sun (Yamunā), the most holy Sarasvatī,

where Brahmā, lord of the gods, sacrificed with ten horse-sacrifices; / then the king of sacred places, Kāśī, where Mahādeva, the treasure of compassion,

whispers into the ear of dying creatures the liberating mantra; / the holy hermitage of Pulaha, the sacred Phalgutīrtha, and the Gaṇḍakī;

Cakratīrtha, Naimiṣa, the endless Śivatīrtha, / Gopratāraka, Nāgeśa, Ayodhyā, and that named Bindutīrtha,

where dwells the lotus-eyed Rāma in person, who bestows liberation; / the sacred places of Agni, Vāyu, Kubera, Kumāra, and again of the sacred trees;

the Boar incarnation's place, Mathurā where Hari is ever present, / Puṣkara, Satyatīrtha, Jvālatīrtha, and Dineśvara;

Indratīrtha, Kurukṣetra where the eastern Sarasvatī flows, / the Tāpī, the Payoṣṇī, the Nirvindhyā, Malaya, and the Kṛṣṇaveṇikā;

the Godāvarī, Daṇḍaka, Tāmracūḍa, and Sadodaka; / having seen Dyāvābhūmīśvara, then Śrīśaila, the lord of mountains,

where innumerable liṅga shrines are ever present, O sage; / on Mount Veṅkaṭa, Hari himself, known as Śrīraṅga, of great splendour;

right there the goddess named Veṅkaṭī, the slayer of Mahiṣa; / Candratīrtha, Bhadravaṭa, the Kāverī and Kuṭilācala;

the Avaṭodā, the Tāmraparṇī, Trikūṭa, and Mount Kollaka; / the Vāsiṣṭha, Brahmatīrtha, Jñānatīrtha, and the great ocean;

Hṛṣīkeśa, Virāja, Viśālā, the Blue Mountain (Nīlaparvata), / Bhīmakūṭa, Śvetagiri, Rudratīrtha, and Umāvana,

where the mountain-born goddess obtained Śaṅkara through austerity; / the sacred place of Varuṇa, Sūryatīrtha, Haṃsatīrtha, and Mahodaya,

plunging into which crows attained the state of royal swans, / and where an asura attained the state of a god merely by bathing;

Viśvarūpa, Vanditīrtha, Ratneśa, and Mount Kuhaka; / having seen Nara-Nārāyaṇa, one is freed from crores of sins;

the Sarasvatī and Dṛṣadvatī, the Narmadā that gives joy to mortals, / Nīlakaṇṭha, Mahākāla, and holy Amarakaṇṭaka;

the Candrabhāgā, the Vetravatī, Vīrabhadra, Gaṇeśvara, / Gokarṇa, Bilvatīrtha, and Karmakuṇḍa along with Tāraka,

where merely by bathing one is swiftly released from the bondage of karma; / and other sacred places as well were visited by your grace.

Auspicious understanding arises when there is grace from good people. / On one side are all sacred places, and on the other are compassionate good people.

Those who have observed vows wander for the grace of living beings. / You are the teacher of all castes, superior in learning and in age.

Therefore I ask something that has long been a mental affliction: / What should I do? Whom should I ask? My mind is exceedingly fickle, O sage!

It has no desire for the realm of Brahman, but has excessive longing for sense-objects. / It does not endure separation even for a moment, proclaiming darkness,

deluded by diverse states, an excellent field of actions. / Tell me, O brāhmaṇa, how it may attain peace, like a harvest-rich field,

and how it may become pure and inclined towards discernment, out of compassion.' / The sage said: / 'The mind is indeed ever powerful and agitated by its very nature.

Elephant drivers bring even an intoxicated elephant under control; / likewise, unwearied, through the company of good people and through spiritual practices,

one should bring it under control through intense devotion and inquiry. / I shall tell you a historical narrative that will produce conviction in you.

Nārada told me of the events of his own past birth.' / Nārada said: / 'Formerly, O sage, I was the son of a maidservant of a certain foremost twice-born.

Though in childhood, I was trained and thoroughly instructed. / Even there, association occurred with great souls of holy deeds,

who were staying in my house during the rainy season, through the power of good fortune. / And by my serving them, following their wishes, with modesty and self-restraint,

they, having reached the utmost satisfaction, spoke this out of compassion, / by which a spotless intellect arose in me, seeking the good,

and through which I saw everything composed of Viṣṇu within my very self.' / The sages said: / 'Listen, dear child, we will speak for your benefit, boy,

by holding onto which happiness will be yours here and hereafter. / Gods, animals, and men—the diverse creatures in this cycle of existence—

bound by the cords of karma, experience various kinds of pleasures and pains. / One goes to the state of a god by sattva, and to the state of a human by rajas;

an ignorant creature goes to animal birth by tamas, following latent impressions. / Obtaining birth again from a mother, he dies again and again.

Having thus passed through countless wombs, this field of karma, / and having obtained a rare human birth sometime by the power of destiny,

by the grace of great souls, knowing Hari, he is liberated / from the boundless ocean of existence, whose sea-monsters are disease and whose net is delusion.

I see no [means] for one desiring to cross over, except remembering Rāma. / Just as butter [is extracted] from curds, and fire sometimes from wood,

by churning with spiritual means, one knowing the Supreme thus becomes happy. / The Self is eternal, imperishable, true, all-pervading, the supporter of all, and great;

it is immeasurable, self-luminous, ungraspable even by the mind. / Consisting of being, consciousness, and bliss, it dwells in the heart of all living beings.

Even when created things perish, it never perishes. / Space is present in all elements, as is fire and water;

the Self is everywhere untainted, like the wind in earthly things. / Compassionate toward his devotees, the Lord [manifests] for the protection of the virtuous,

and manifests in the worlds, yet is perceived by the ignorant as possessing qualities. / One who contemplates [him] in the heart with a discerning intellect in this way—

pleased by devotion, the unborn Lord reveals Himself [to him]. / Then he becomes one who has accomplished his purpose, always free from longing everywhere.

Therefore, abandoning egoism with regard to the body and its attachments, / one should walk unattached in the worlds, which are like dreams, free from the sense of ‘mine’.

Where is constant firmness in a dream? Where is truth in an illusion? / Where is permanence in an autumn cloud, or where is truth in the body?

Knowing that whatever moving and unmoving thing is seen is produced by ignorance and action, / [and being] a yogi whose conduct is mastered, you will thereupon attain perfection.”

Having spoken thus, all those virtuous sages, compassionate to the distressed, departed. / And following the path spoken by them, I acted in just that way day after day.

Then, before long, I saw within myself this wondrous thing: / full of light, ever blissful, pure as the autumn moon.

Sprinkling me with masses of joy and leaving me intensely longing, / that great light vanished, like lightning in the sky.

Meditating with devotion upon that very wondrous [light] in my mind, / in due time I cast off my body and went to imperishable Hari.

By his will, O sage, my birth from Brahmā took place once again. / By the grace of the Lord, being free from desire in the three worlds,

continually striking the vīṇā and singing, I wander about.” / Having thus spoken of his own experience, the wandering sage went on his way at will.

I, too, felt the greatest wonder and immense satisfaction. / Therefore, through association with the virtuous and through devotion to the Supreme Self,

your purified, stainless, and tranquil mind will attain peace. / Sin produced over many births, in the company of the virtuous,

quickly perishes, O knower of dharma, like the [turbidity] of waters in autumn.
The vaiśya said:
Having drunk the nectar of your words, my heart has found peace.

The fruit of all pilgrimage places has accrued to me today from the sight of you. / Having heard his words, the best of sages spoke.

Lomaśa said:
For your welfare, O king of kings, as you desire the fruit of the three aims of life: / whatever abundant meritorious deeds you have performed without the release of a bull,

I consider all of it to be of no avail, like mist-water. / There is no means on the surface of the earth equal to the release of a bull.

They go without difficulty to the state of those who perform meritorious deeds. / One by whom the release of a bull is performed, and one who offers a horse sacrifice—

both of them have been seen by me as equal and divine in the presence of Śakra. / Therefore, go to Puṣkara and, having performed the release of a bull,

then go home, O virtuous one, whereby everything will be accomplished.
Vipaścit said:
Then, having returned, he, on the full-moon day of Kārttika at excellent Puṣkara,

where the Lord in the form of a Boar resides, the fulfiller of sacrifices, / performed everything according to rule, joined by the best of sages.

Many pilgrimage places were visited, and then [came] the meeting with Lomaśa; / from that, even greater merit arose, born of the marriage of a dark bull.

Having enjoyed heavenly pleasures seated in an excellent aerial chariot, / by that merit his birth took place in the royal line of Vīrasena.

Known as Vīrapañcānana, he was the sole accomplisher of the four aims of life. / While he was performing the release of a bull, those attendants who were there

became possessed of divine form when touched by the drops of water from the cow’s tail; / and those standing at a distance looking on became handsome and stout of body.

Then, those people seen even farther away were stained, / wretched, filthy, rough, emaciated, and devoid of clothing,

not looking upon the sacrifice of the bull and exhibiting malice. / All the history of the previous birth of the king has been related [to you],

a wonderful, righteous narrative which was heard by me from Parāśara. / Therefore, having shown kindness to me, go to your own home.”

Hearing the words of Vipaścit, he was filled with the utmost wonder. / That brahmin went home, escorted by the king’s servants.

Vasiṣṭha said:
Therefore, O king, perform according to rule the release of a bull, the best of all rites, / if indeed you fear Yama.

There is no higher means leading to heaven than the release of a bull. / The secret of dharma has been related to you by me, O best of kings.

If a woman who has a husband and son dies before her husband, / one should not perform the release of a bull; rather, one should give a milch cow.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa said:
Having heard the words of Vasiṣṭha, the king went to the city of Madhu [and] / performed the entire rite of the release of a bull according to rule, O bird.

Having gone home, he considered himself to have achieved his purpose. / In the course of time, meeting his death, he was led away by the attendants of Vaivasvata.

Leaving behind the city of Death, he went far along the path / and asked the messengers: “Where is the city of Śrāddhadeva,

where sinners are cast down by the servants of Yama for purification from sin, / where that god is, the judge of dharma and adharma?”

“That city of sins is passed; it is not to be seen by persons like you.” / Seeing Dharmarāja ahead, they spoke with the highest respect.

Then the god of divine form, accompanied by gods and gandharvas, / showed himself to that great-souled king.

Bowing like a staff, the king stood before him with joined palms / and praised the god in many ways, his mind filled with joy.

Dharmarāja, too, praised the king and said: / “Let him be conducted to the world of the gods, where abundant enjoyments reside.”

Hearing that, Vīravāhana asked the Arbiter [of Justice]: / “I do not know by what merit you are taking me to heaven, O lord.”

Dharmarāja said:
“Merits were performed by you—gifts and sacrifices in full detail; / and in Mathurā, the release of a bull on the word of Vasiṣṭha.

Even a small amount of dharma, O king, if properly observed, / reaches vast expansion by the grace of brahmins and the gods.

Having spoken thus, the brother of the Yamunā vanished in an instant; / Vīrabāhu, having gone to heaven, rejoiced together with the gods.

The Holy Kṛṣṇa said: / I have narrated to you in detail, O Bird, the sacrifice of the bull; / by hearing [this] eradication of living beings' past actions, one is freed from sins.

Thus ends the sixth chapter, named 'Description of the Greatness of the Release of a Bull', in the Pretakalpa of the latter section of the glorious and great Garuḍa Purāṇa, in the dialogue between the Holy Kṛṣṇa and Garuḍa.