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Garudapurana 1.89

English (machine translation) 1.89

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1.89.1

The glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa—89
Sūta said:
Being questioned, Mārkaṇḍeya spoke again to Krauñcuki:
With his mind greatly agitated by those words of his ancestors,

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the brahmin sage, desiring a maiden, wandered over the earth.
Not finding a maiden, spurred on by the words of his ancestors,
he experienced deep anxiety, his mind exceedingly distressed.

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“What shall I do? Where shall I go? How can marriage
quickly happen for me, bringing about prosperity for my ancestors and for me?”

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As he was pondering thus, the thought occurred to the great-souled one:
“Through austerity, I shall propitiate Brahmā, the lotus-born.”

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Then the magnanimous one performed austerity for a hundred celestial years;
remaining there for a long time in the forests, steadfast in vows,
he then undertook supreme restraint to propitiate [him].

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Then Brahmā, the grandfather of the worlds, revealed himself,
and spoke: “I am pleased; let your desire be stated!”

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Then, having bowed, he spoke to Brahmā, the refuge of the universe,
about what he wished to do in accordance with the command of his ancestors.

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Brahmā said:
You shall become a Prajāpati; offspring must be created by you.
Having created offspring, producing sons, O brahmin, and likewise rituals,

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having carried out your role, you will then attain perfection.
Therefore, take a wife as instructed by your ancestors.

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With this desire in mind, let worship of the ancestors be performed. / Satisfied, those very ancestors will grant what you desire. / When pleased, what would the ancestors not give—a wife and sons?

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Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Hearing this speech of Brahmā, whose birth is unmanifest, / the sage performed libations to the ancestors on the secluded bank of a river.

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Then, focused and restrained, his neck bowed in devotion, / the attentive brāhmaṇa praised the ancestors with these hymns:

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Ruci said: / I bow with devotion to the ancestors who dwell as presiding deities, / who are gratified even by the gods at śrāddhas ending with svadhā.

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I bow to the ancestors in heaven, who are gratified by the great sages / through mental śrāddhas, with devotion, by those desiring enjoyment and liberation.

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I bow to the ancestors in heaven, whom the siddhas gratify / at śrāddhas with all kinds of celestial, unsurpassed offerings.

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I bow with devotion to the ancestors who are worshipped in heaven by the guhyakas / desiring supreme, absolute prosperity through absorption in them.

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I bow to the ancestors who are always worshipped on earth by mortals / with faith at śrāddhas, bestowing their desired realms and nourishment.

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I bow to the ancestors who are always worshipped on earth by brāhmaṇas / for obtaining what is desired and longed for, granting the status of Prajāpati.

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I bow to the ancestors who are indeed gratified by forest dwellers / whose food is restrained, whose impurities are removed by asceticism, through forest śrāddha offerings.

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I bow to the ancestors who are perpetually gratified / through meditations by self-controlled, lifelong celibate brāhmaṇas practicing dharma.

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I bow to the ancestors whom kṣatriyas gratify at śrāddhas / according to rule with all ancestral offerings, who bestow the fruits of both worlds.

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I bow to the ancestors who are always worshipped on earth by vaiśyas / devoted to their own duties, continually with flowers, incense, food, and water.

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I bow to the ancestors who at the śrāddha are gratified with devotion even by śūdras; / famous by the name Sukālins, they encompass the entire universe.

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I bow to the ancestors who at the śrāddha in the netherworld are gratified / constantly by the great asuras, who eat nectar and have cast off pride and arrogance.

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I bow to the ancestors who at śrāddhas are worshipped in Rasātala / according to rule with all enjoyments by nāgas desiring their wished-for pleasures.

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I bow to the ancestors who are constantly gratified at śrāddhas right there / by serpents, according to rule, endowed with abundant mantras and offerings.

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I bow to the ancestors who dwell visibly in the world of the gods, on the earth's surface, / or likewise in the atmosphere, worshipped even by the enemies of the gods; may they accept what I present.

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I bow to the ancestors who are the ultimate reality, who dwell formless in celestial chariots, / whom masters of yoga worship with minds free of impurity, as the causes of liberation from afflictions.

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I bow to the ancestors possessing form in heaven, who consume the svadhā, capable of granting / all desired things when motivated by a wish for fruits, and who bestow liberation to those without desire.

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May all those ancestors be gratified herein, who grant desires to those who wish for them: / godhood, Indra's status, or even higher, elephants, horses, gems, and great mansions.

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Those who dwell in the rays of the moon, in the orb of the sun, and always in bright celestial chariots— / may those ancestors be gratified herein with food and water, and attain nourishment from perfume and the like.

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Those who are gratified by oblations when offerings are made in fire, who eat while abiding in the bodies of brāhmaṇas, / and who attain joy through the offering of rice-balls—may those ancestors be gratified herein with food and water.

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Those who are gladdened by rhinoceros meat, by black sesame seeds pleasing to the gods and celestially charming, / and with kālaśāka by the best of great sages—may they attain joy here.

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And whatever offerings to the ancestors are especially beloved to those worshipped by me, / may they be present here among the flowers, scents, water, and food prepared by me.

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Those who accept worship day by day, who are worshipped at the end of the month, on earth on the aṣṭakā days, / and who are worshipped at the end of the year and at auspicious ceremonies—may those ancestors of mine find satisfaction here.

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Those worshipped by the twice-born, shining like the white water-lily and moon; those of kṣatriyas, colored like fire and the sun; / likewise those of vaiśyas, radiant like gold; and those of the śūdras, with the lustre of indigo—

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may all of them be satisfied herein by my presentation of flowers, perfume, incense, water, food, and the like, / and likewise through fire-oblations; I bow down always to those ancestors.

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Those who eat pure ancestral offerings preceded by offerings to the gods for complete satisfaction, / and who, when satisfied, bestow prosperity—may they be gratified herein; I bow down to them.

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May they destroy rākṣasas, spirits, and fierce asuras, and remove misfortune from creatures; / the primordial ones among the gods, worshipped by the lord of the immortals—may they be gratified herein; I bow down to them.

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May the Agniṣvāttas, the Barhiṣads, the Ājyapas, and likewise the Somapas, / reach satisfaction in this śrāddha, the ancestors gratified by me.

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May the Agniṣvātta groups of ancestors protect my eastern quarter; / likewise, may the Barhiṣad ancestors always guard my southern quarter; / similarly the Ājyapas the west, and the Somapas the north.

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From rākṣasas, bhūtas, and piśācas, and likewise from the harm of asuras, / may the ancestors constantly provide protection on all sides for me.

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Viśva, Viśvabhuj, Ārādhya, Dharma, Dhanya, Śubhānana, / Bhūtida, Bhūtikṛt, and Bhūti: these are the nine groups of ancestors.

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Kalyāṇa, Kalyada, Kartṛ, Kalya, Kalyatarāśraya, / and Kalyatāhetu-anagha: these are remembered as six groups.

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Vara, Vareṇya, Varada, Tuṣṭida, and likewise Puṣṭida, / Viśvapātṛ, and Dhātṛ: these are remembered as seven groups.

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Mahat, Mahātman, Mahita, Mahimāvat, and Mahābala: / these are the five groups of ancestors that destroy sins.

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Sukhada, Dhanada, another being Dharmada, and another Bhūtida: / thus is recounted a set of four groups of ancestors.

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The thirty-one groups of ancestors by whom the entire universe is pervaded— / may those very groups of ancestors be satisfied here by what is offered by me.

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Mārkaṇḍeya said: / While he was thus praising them, an exalted mass of splendor / suddenly appeared, pervading the sky.

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Having seen that exceedingly great splendour standing encompassing the world, / Ruci, falling to the earth on his knees, sang this hymn of praise:

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Ruci said: / ‘To the fathers, worshipped, bodiless, of radiant splendour, / meditators with divine eyes, to them I always bow.

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And who are the leaders of Indra and the others, and of Dakṣa and Marīci's son [Kaśyapa], / as well as of the seven sages and others, to those granters of desires I bow.

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And who are the leaders of Manu and the rest, and of the sun and the moon, / to all those fathers, even those in the ocean, I bow.

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And of the constellations, planets, wind, fire, and sky, / as well as of heaven and earth, with joined palms I bow.

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To Prajāpati Kaśyapa, to Soma, and to Varuṇa, / and to the lords of yoga, with joined palms I always bow.

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Homage to the seven groups [of fathers] in the seven worlds; / I bow to the self-born Brahman whose eye is yoga.

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To the groups of fathers whose support is Soma, who bear the form of yoga, / I bow, and likewise to Soma, the father of the worlds.

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And to the other fathers who have the nature of fire, I bow, / since this entire universe consists of fire and Soma.

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Those who are in splendour, and those who have the forms of Soma, the sun, and fire, / whose nature is the universe, and likewise whose nature is Brahman,

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to all those yogic fathers, with restrained mind: / Homage, homage, homage be to you! May the consumers of the svadhā offering be pleased!’

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Mārkaṇḍeya said: / Praised thus by him, O best of sages, / those fathers emerged from that splendour, illuminating the ten directions.

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And with the offering of flowers and fragrant unguents that had been made by him, / adorned with that, he then saw them standing before him.

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Prostrating himself with devotion, once again with joined palms, / Ruci respectfully said to them individually: ‘Homage to you, homage to you!’

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Then the pleased fathers said to that best of sages: / ‘Choose a boon!’ Bowing his head, he said to them:

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Ruci said: / ‘The role of creator of offspring was commanded to me by Brahmā; / therefore, I desire a blessed, divine wife who will bear offspring.’

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The fathers said: / ‘Right here, immediately, let there be an exceedingly delightful wife for you, / and in her, a son shall be born to you, O best of sages!

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A wise ruler of a Manvantara, designated by your very name, / O Ruci, he will attain renown in the three worlds as Raucya.

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And he shall have many great-souled sons of great strength and valour, / protectors of the earth.

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And you, having become a prajāpati and created the fourfold offspring, / your duty fulfilled, knowing dharma, will then attain perfection.

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And whichever man pleases us with this hymn out of devotion, / pleased with him, we [grant] enjoyments, a son, and supreme meditation.

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Longevity, health, wealth, as well as sons, grandsons, and the like, / by those desiring these, we should indeed be praised constantly with this hymn, because:

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Whoever will recite this praise that pleases us with devotion at ancestral rites, / standing before the foremost twice-born while they eat,

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delighted by hearing the hymn, our supreme presence being made, / that ancestral rite shall without doubt become imperishable through us.

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Even if an ancestral rite lacks learned priests, even if it is impaired, / or if it is performed with wealth obtained unjustly, or otherwise [flawed],

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or performed with spoiled offerings unworthy of an ancestral rite, / or at an improper time or place, or even devoid of proper rules,

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or what is performed without faith by men resorting to hypocrisy, / even so, for our satisfaction, by the recitation of this ancestral rite [hymn],

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in whichever ancestral rite this hymn bringing us pleasure is recited, / our satisfaction produced there lasts for twelve years.

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In the cold season, it grants twelve years of satisfaction; / in the winter, this auspicious hymn [grants] satisfaction for double that number of years.

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In the spring, it brings sixteen years of satisfaction in the ancestral rite; / and in the summer, recited, it causes sixteen [years of] satisfaction.

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Even when an ancestral rite is performed defectively, if accomplished with this hymn / in the rainy season, our satisfaction becomes imperishable, O Ruci!

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Even when recited in the autumn at the time of the ancestral rite, / by men, it grants us satisfaction for fifteen years.

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And in whatever house this [hymn] remains written constantly, / our presence will be there when an ancestral rite is performed.

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Therefore, this must be recited by you at an ancestral rite before the Brahmins while they eat, / O highly fortunate one; it causes our nourishment.’

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Thus ends the eighty-ninth chapter, titled ‘The Praise of the Fathers Composed by Ruci,’ in the section on conduct, in the first part called the first section of the glorious Garuḍa Purāṇa.

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