Garudapurana 3.20

The glorious and great Garuḍa Purāṇa — 20 / The glorious Kṛṣṇa said: / In a previous creation, O chief of birds, she who became the daughter of him named Nala, desiring to be the wife of Viṣṇu, / performed circumambulation by walking around; on account of her excellence she was auspicious, and came to be named Bhadrā.

Seeing her who remained in maidenhood, named Bhadrā, her father Nala spoke to her: / "O auspicious one, why do you torment your body? Tell me, my daughter, what is the fruit of that?"

Bhadrā said: / "Listen to me, father: who would be able to declare the fruit of prostration and the rest?

Nevertheless, I shall tell you, father, according to my ability; listen well for your welfare: / 'Hari is ever my compassionate master; I am a servant of the servants of Hari; / protect me, O Viṣṇu! I revere your feet.' Having spoken thus, she made a prostration like a rod.

Prostration to Hari that is devoid of proper procedure is declared futile by the wise; listen to that: / saying 'O Lord of Ramā, Lord of Madhva, Lord of Sarasvatī,' one should thus bow down to God Viṣṇu.

The God of gods is not so pleased by worship or ritual action as he is pleased by prostration; / and he does not deliver from sins through other [means] as he does through the remembrance of his name or through prostration.

Those who merely nourish the body, father, and make it stout while devoid of prostrations to Hari— / the wise say that it is utterly futile, father; and they declare misery in hell for those who nourish it.

Yama also places him there in a mortar and pounds him into powder with pestles. / Or whoever does not perform circumambulation of Viṣṇu, the God of gods, O father—

Yama constantly crushes his two feet by placing them in an oil press. / The tongue of those that does not constantly utter the name 'Hari Kṛṣṇa', they declare to be useless.

In the realm of Yama, Yama constantly pulls out their tongue and grinds it to powder. / What is the use of dwelling in Kāśī, or what is the use of dying in Prayāga, O father?

What happiness is there in dying at the tip of an arrow? What is the use of performing sacrifices and the like? / What is the use of wandering to all sacred shrines? What is the use of studying the scriptures with an extremely sharp intellect,

for those on the tip of whose tongue the name of Hari does not exist, by whose limbs there is no bowing to Viṣṇu, / [and] by whose feet there is no circumambulation of Hari? Great souls say that everything of theirs is in vain.

Why [value] circumambulation and bowing devoid of dedication to Hari? They call [Hari alone] the worthy offering. / Therefore, bowing to Viṣṇu must indeed be done; remembering the name of Hari, O father, must be done.

For this birth is difficult to obtain, yet perishable, just like a drop resting upon water. / Do not place trust in your body, nor even among living beings, thinking 'he is mine, he is another', O father.

The bowing performed today may not be yours [tomorrow]; the remembrance performed today may not be yours [tomorrow]. / 'When will I meet death?'—I do not know that. Do not place trust in the body, O great-souled one."

Hearing this, Nala, the best of heroes, heard his daughter's entirely pure words, / and he offered obeisance and performed circumambulation according to his ability.

She too always performed circumambulation and obeisance to Hari. / Having done so for many days, meditating upon the supreme Nārāyaṇa,

she abandoned her body with contemplation on Hari at the moment of death. / In the womb of the sister of my father Vasudeva, O bird,

she was born named Kaikeyī, also bearing the name Bhadrā. / Because she was endowed with auspicious qualities, that Bhadrā was named Bhadrā ('the auspicious one').

Carried back by her five Kaikeya brothers, O best of birds, / she was obtained [by me], O best of birds.

I will tell the reason for taking the hand of Mitravindā. / Becoming attentive in mind, listen, O best king of birds!

Mitravindā said: / Mitravindā, who in a previous creation had also chosen [me] out of intense desire, possessing the nature of Agni and Soma, / the goddess, desiring always to attain Hari as her friend, meditated upon the means thereto.

There are means for the attainment of Hari; the goddess considered which among them was principal. / Among them, they declare the hearing of the sattvic Purāṇas to be the best at all times,

a Purāṇa in which the pre-eminence of Viṣṇu and the pre-eminence of Vāyu and of virtuous people is found, / always with the mental attitude of faith in Viṣṇu at all times; no other means is to be heard there.

On whatever day there is no hearing of the story of Viṣṇu, they say the birth of those people is in vain. / Bathing, recitation, the five daily sacrifices, religious observances, public works, charitable gifts, the kṛcchra and cāndrāyaṇa penances, and gifts given—

all is useless, as is the initiation of Vaiṣṇavas, without the discourse being properly performed. / By those who have not heard the Bhāgavata Purāṇa from teachers endowed with authentic lineages,

by those who have not heard the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, by those who have not heard the theological section of the Purāṇa, / their birth is called useless by great souls. Therefore, the news of Hari must always be heard.

Where the great river of the stories of Govinda does not flow, where there is no refuge at the feet of Nārāyaṇa, / where there is not constantly the word of Viṣṇu, one should not dwell there even for a single moment in any way.

In a village where the Bhāgavata scripture does not exist, nor do connoisseurs who are devotees of Bhagavān, / in a house where the essence of the meaning of the Gītā does not exist, or in a village where the Thousand Names [does not exist]—

where connoisseurs of the two do not dwell, one should not dwell there even for a single moment in any way. / On whatever day there is no divine narrative of Viṣṇu for a creature, his life is simply wasted.

When it has passed into the womb, there is no consideration here; one considers it difficult to obtain in the mortal world. / An ear adorned with ornaments and beautiful is not called beautiful by noble connoisseurs;

the ear that is adorned with the ornaments of the narratives of Viṣṇu—that alone noble ones call beautiful. / Therefore, those who constantly hear the essence of the meaning of the Bhāgavata and continually recite it,

great souls say that their life is fulfilled, and great indeed is their reward. / Even mortals who, wearing turbans and jackets, listen to the narrative of Hari and constantly read it—

all of them are indeed worthy of worship in the world; they are not attached merely to the genitals and the belly. / Those who out of courtesy or greed for wealth always recite the Purāṇa, the essence of the truth of the Lord,

yet conceal the secrets of truth—their destination is always the son of the Sun (Yama). / Those who in the section on religious duties and the ritual section always generate a keen taste there constantly,

who narrate the Purāṇa for a price—their destination is always the son of the Sun. / Those who listen to the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, the truth of the meaning of Hari's scriptures, for a price,

and those who undertake the study of the Vedas for a price—their destination is always the son of the Sun. / But those who are content with wealth obtained by chance are always eligible in this matter.

Those who are possessed of extreme thirst for the acquisition of wealth have no qualification in the Bhāgavata. / Considering that Hari alone is always the inner controller in the world, and there is no other Lord besides Him—

for those who always reflect thus, Viṣṇu bears their welfare and security. / For true Vaiṣṇavas there is no misfortune at all, nor is it seen to arise from doubtful knowledge.

In accordance with actions, Hari gives the fruit of good and evil deeds. / Therefore, one should not strive for that; for the sake of wealth, one should direct effort toward the truth of Hari.

Therefore, having bathed, chanted the divine mantra, and offered the fragrant remnants of Viṣṇu's worship, / becoming pure, even an all-knowing person should constantly recite the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

The acquisition of wealth, the acquisition of the Veda, and the acquisition of the scriptures will occur in accordance with past deeds; / but hearing of Viṣṇu, and hearing with intense devotion, is exceedingly difficult to attain.

Tasting the essence of the Bhāgavata out of deep reverence is hard to attain in the mortal world. / Having tasted that Bhāgavata Purāṇa, being joined with tears of joy is also hard to attain.

The noble declare that hearing, ascertaining the principles, and retaining them all is exceedingly hard to attain. / And having heard, after the retention of the principles, the digestion of lust and anger is hard to attain.

After hearing and retaining the principles, union in yoga is likewise hard to attain.

And having heard, after retaining the principles, the digestion of lust and anger is hard to attain. / Even those purified by knowledge, these faults in this world ever render filled with doubt.

"Therefore I shall always perform the hearing of the sacred narrative; there is no question about this." / Desiring the name of Hari on that account, she resolved her mind and indeed applied it to hearing. / Having thus engaged in hearing until the end of her body, she abandoned her body and was reborn on the earth,

To dwell, O bird, in the womb of Vasudeva’s sister; / and she was born of the one named Sumitrā as Mitravindikā.

Through hearing, she attained Hari as a friend (mitra); she was Mitravindikā. / Therefore she became known by the name Mitravindā.

At the svayaṃvara, O King of Birds, that passionate woman among the kings / threw the garland onto my shoulder; taking her, O King of Birds, / having driven off all the kings, we reached the city, O King of Birds.

Thus ends the twentieth chapter, entitled 'Determination of the Practice of Austerities and Other Means Leading to Attaining the Lord as Husband, Performed by Bhadrā,' in the Brahmakāṇḍa of the third part, the Uttarakhaṇḍa, of the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa.