Garudapurana 3
English (machine translation) 3
- Language
- English
Contents
- 3.1 — 91 parts
- 3.2 — 70 parts
- 3.3 — 58 parts
- 3.4 — 77 parts
- 3.5 — 58 parts
- 3.6 — 60 parts
- 3.7 — 74 parts
- 3.8 — 17 parts
- 3.9 — 27 parts
- 3.10 — 56 parts
- 3.11 — 48 parts
- 3.12 — 110 parts
- 3.13 — 52 parts
- 3.14 — 49 parts
- 3.15 — 30 parts
- 3.16 — 102 parts
- 3.17 — 48 parts
- 3.18 — 78 parts
- 3.19 — 75 parts
- 3.20 — 50 parts
- 3.21 — 33 parts
- 3.22 — 85 parts
- 3.23 — 48 parts
- 3.24 — 126 parts
- 3.25 — 60 parts
- 3.26 — 135 parts
- 3.27 — 40 parts
- 3.28 — 149 parts
- 3.29 — 70 parts
3.1.1
Homage to holy Gaṇeśa. / Homage to holy Lakṣmī-Nṛsiṃha. / Homage to holy Dattātreya. / Homage to holy Vedavyāsa. / Homage to holy Hayagrīva. / Now begins the third section, the Brahmakāṇḍa, in the Garuḍa Purāṇa: / Om. Lightning to the wrestlers, the foremost of men to humanity, love personified to women, / a kinsman to the cowherds, a punisher to the wicked rulers of earth, a child to his parents, / death to the lord of Bhojas, ordained by the creator, the supreme reality to the yogins, / and always the lord of the Vṛṣṇis, Acyuta shone forever in the arena together with his elder brother.
3.1.2
"Homage to Nārāyaṇa"—having bowed down indeed to him, whose form is the primal source, / I will proclaim this narrative of Nārāyaṇa.
3.1.3
The great-souled sages, Śaunaka and others, speakers of the Veda, / performed exceedingly great ascetic penance in the most holy place named Naimiṣa.
3.1.4
Subduing their senses, subduing their food, being virtuous, devoted to truth, / they were worshipping with supreme devotion the primal Viṣṇu, teacher of the world.
3.1.5
Praising supreme Brahman, the eye of the universe, endowed with great energy, / knowing the reality of the meaning of all scriptures, they practised penance in the Naimiṣa Forest.
3.1.6
Some worshipped the Lord of Sacrifice with sacrifices, some the supreme [Lord] consisting of knowledge through spiritual insights, / and others worshipped Nārāyaṇa with supreme devotion.
3.1.7
Once, however, the noble, great-souled [sages] gathered together in assembly, / desiring to know the means to dharma, wealth, pleasure, and liberation.
3.1.8
Twenty-six thousand were the sages of restrained seed, / and the number of their disciples and grand-disciples cannot be stated.
3.1.9
Those assembled sages, purified in soul, of great energy, / were benefactors of the world, free from passion and free from envy.
3.1.10
"How can men have unfaltering devotion to Hari? / By what means may all of a person’s three kinds of action succeed?"
3.1.11
Seeing them thus intent on questioning himself, Śaunaka, / folding his hands, bowed down with humility, that wise one spoke these words:
3.1.12
Śaunaka said: / "In the holy Siddhāśrama resides Sūta, the foremost of purāṇic reciters; / he knows all this, that disciple of Vyāsa and lord of ascetics.
3.1.13
Therefore, let us ask him!"—thus [said] the sage Śaunaka. / Then those sages went from there to the holy Siddhāśrama.
3.1.14
Those dwellers of the Naimiṣa Forest questioned him as he sat comfortably. / The sages said: / "We have arrived as guests, and you, O [sage] of good vows, are the host.
3.1.15
Having worshipped [him] properly with the rites of bathing and gifting: / by what means may Viṣṇu become pleased? How is he worshipped by men?
3.1.16
And proclaim the ascertainment of the truth that serves as the means to liberation." / Sūta said: / "Listen, all you sages, to Hari, the ascertainment of the truth.
3.1.17
Having bowed to Viṣṇu, Śrī, Vāyu, Bhāratī, the one named Śeṣa, / and the guru Dvaipāyana Kṛṣṇa, I will speak according to my understanding.
3.1.18
There is none equal to Nārāyaṇa; there has been none, nor will there be. / By this truthful statement I accomplish all objectives."
3.1.19
Śaunaka said: / "For what purpose should the bowing to Viṣṇu at the beginning of a text, O best of sages, / be performed? Tell me, O Brahman, out of your compassion, O [sage] of good vows.
3.1.20
Then [why] to Śrī, then to Vāyu, and then after that to Bhāratī, / and at the end, why have you bowed to Vyāsa? / O Sūta, Sūta, highly fortunate one, state the reason in this matter."
3.1.21
Sūta said: / "First to be praised is the one to be known solely by all Vedas—in Veda, treatise, Itihāsa, and Purāṇa; / Viṣṇu alone predominantly shines as existence itself, therefore Hari alone is to be bowed to.
3.1.22
He is foremost everywhere, superior even to anyone else; he alone is to be bowed to, and not Śaṅkara and the others. / Those who out of insolence bow down indeed to Śaṅkara, Vināyaka, Caṇḍikā, and Reṇukā,
3.1.23
and likewise to the Sun, Bhairava, the Mothers, and likewise to Vāṇī, Girijā, and Śrī— / none of them at all in this world are Vaiṣṇavas, nor are they his devotees, so the noble ones say.
3.1.24
Bowing should never be performed separately; these deities are not pleased by worship. / All the deities, having received worship, and having granted something by giving a reward to them,
3.1.25
and having satisfied them according to their own desire, being pleased, and likewise having offered / that desire-prompted worship caused to be done by them to the supreme deity, Viṣṇu, Hari, praised by Śrī, Puruṣa, and others,
3.1.26
they will later grant things other than happiness in this world and the next, and indeed the lower darkness. / Therefore these are certainly not to be worshipped nor bowed to by Brahmins and others seeking liberation, O foremost of the twice-born,
3.1.27
and likewise at all times by members of all life-stages, even in great misfortune, O best of the vipras! / Those, however, who out of desire for prosperity constantly worship the deities beginning with Śrī, Brahmā, Rudra, Indra, and Yama,
3.1.28
experience great suffering even in this very world, and great calamities such as leprosy and fistula. / Those who bow to non-Vaiṣṇavas, to the representations of Brahmā, Rudra, and Vāyu, are not Viṣṇu's devotees at all.
3.1.29
I will tell the intention here, O kings of sages; it is supreme secret and must indeed be held in the heart: / the representation of Vāyu alone is to be worshipped here, O vipras, not the representation of Brahmā, Rudra, and the others.
3.1.30
At the time of worship of Viṣṇu, the god of gods, having placed the representation of Vāyu in a suitable location, / and having properly worshipped Hari, the husband of Lakṣmī, dwelling inside that Vāyu,
3.1.31
afterwards, one should properly worship the auspicious representation of Vāyu with the remnants of the offerings to Hari. / And those fools who perform separate worship with garlands, incense, unguents, and the like,
3.1.32
theirs will be suffering in this world and in the next world; there is no doubt in this matter. / The expiation is for welfare, O vipras; let them somehow perform that remembrance of the name of Viṣṇu.
3.1.33
Those fools who, with the expectation of a reward, bow to the representations of Hari, Vāyu, and Śaṅkara / established by heretics, Rudra, and others—their fruit is perpetual suffering alone.
3.1.34
If the representation of Vāyu is consecrated by the best of vipras, then indeed bowing should be done. / If worship is performed with the remnant of the food offered to Hari and Viṣṇu, then there is not the slightest fault."
3.1.35
The supreme guru indeed was born as Hanumān, the great devotee of Rāma's feet, eternally Hanumān. / Having known this, and [knowing] Hari to be supreme, and the son of the chief deity Vāyu—
3.1.36
O best of brahmins, homage [should be offered], not otherwise! Let this secret be held in the heart by all. / Those who are Vaiṣṇavas, or servants of the servants of Vaiṣṇavas, all of them always [revere] only Viṣṇu.
3.1.37
They indeed bow down, and likewise teach virtues that are pure (sāttvika); / they bow down to Vāsudeva and Hari, and explain [Him] fully according to their own capacity.
3.1.38
Even in times of distress, they do not worship another, foreign god through the path of outward ritual action. / They are Vaiṣṇavas, servants of Vaiṣṇava servants; and all others are regarded as mere pseudo-Vaiṣṇavas.
3.1.39
By the interpretive marks such as commencement and conclusion, they proceed straight to Hari and the guru. / The genuine Purāṇas speak of only them, O brahmins; in the Kali age, not all are free from malice.
3.1.40
Because they expound other, beneficial outward religious duties appropriate to their respective castes, / the deluded ones are always envious here; for such [pseudo-]brahmins are indeed numerous in the Kali age.
3.1.41
There is no deity equal to Viṣṇu, and there is no guru equal to Vāyu; / there is no holy bath equal to Viṣṇupadī (the Gaṅgā), and no devotee equal to a devotee of Viṣṇu.
3.1.42
All other texts that expound Viṣṇu, they declare to be sāttvika. / Only those are to be heard in the mortal world; others, which give suffering, must not be heard.
3.1.43
In the Kali age, among all the Purāṇas, only three are primary and dear to Hari. / For men in the Kali age, the chief Purāṇa that brings welfare is the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.
3.1.44
Because the primordial creation is expounded here, the Bhāgavata is held to be supreme; / in which Purāṇa they describe the creation of Brahmā, Rudra, and the rest from Viṣṇu at the beginning.
3.1.45
Thus they explain various subjects, O brahmin; the great ones speak of knowledge having higher and lower forms. / By that alone they declare everything to be established; hence the Bhāgavata Purāṇa is supreme.
3.1.46
Next to that, they mention the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, and after that, the one named Garuḍa. / Only these three are chief for men in the Kali age; yet there is a certain distinction in the Garuḍa.
3.1.47
Hear that distinction, O brahmins! The Purāṇa named Garuḍa consists of three sections. / They call the first section the ritual section (karmakāṇḍa), and the second section they call the section on dharma (dharmakāṇḍa).
3.1.48
They call the third section the theological section (brahmakāṇḍa); among them, this final one is the highest. / From listening to the third section, O brahmins, they declare the merit to be equal to the merit of the Bhāgavata.
3.1.49
When the third section is recited, the reward is equal to the Veda; there is no doubt about this. / From the mere hearing of the third section, O brahmins, the [same] fruit is proclaimed as from reciting and understanding the meaning.
3.1.50
From hearing the third section and comprehending its meaning, they say the merit of the reciter is one-tenth. / After that, they declare the Matsya Purāṇa to be best; after that, the Kūrma Purāṇa.
3.1.50.p1
Likewise, they name the Vāyu Purāṇa; and these three alone are declared to be sāttvika in the world.
3.1.51
Even among these, O lords of sages, something must be understood within the six Purāṇas consisting of sattva:
3.1.52
The Matsya and the Kūrma are called the lowest grade of sattva, and the Vāyu is said to be intermediate sattva; / the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, and the Garuḍa are called the highest sattva by the noble.
3.1.53
The Skanda, the Padma, the Vāmana, the Varāha, and the Āgneya, [and] the Bhaviṣya regarding subsequent creation— / these, O brahmins, they describe as rājasika, though a portion of them is sāttvika and tāmasika.
3.1.54
Because of the abundance of rajas, they are called rājasika; they should never be heard by seekers of liberation. / Yet within them are sāttvika portions; from hearing them, the reward is [equal to a part of] the Garuḍa.
3.1.55
The Brahmāṇḍa, the Liṅga, the Brahmavaivarta, the Mārkaṇḍeya, the Brāhma, and the Āditya— / these, O brahmins, they describe as tāmasika, though a portion of them is sāttvika and rājasika.
3.1.56
These are not to be heard in the mortal world by those desiring truth, because they are tāmasika. / The sāttvika portions situated in them, O lords of sages—hearing them equals one-fourth of the Garuḍa.
3.1.57
They speak of eighteen minor Purāṇas (upapurāṇas): / the Viṣṇudharmottara, the Sātvata Tantra,
3.1.58
the Tattvasāra, the Nārasiṃha, the one proclaimed by Vāyu, / and the Haṃsa Purāṇa; these six, O lords of sages,
3.1.59
you should know as truly sāttvika for the most part; there is no doubt here. / From merely hearing these, half the fruit of the Garuḍa is taught in tradition.
3.1.60
The one named Bhaviṣyottara, the Bṛhannārada, / the Dialogue of Yama and Nārada, and the Laghunārada,
3.1.61
the Vināyaka Purāṇa, and the Bṛhadbrahmāṇḍa— / these they declare to be rājasika; from hearing them, excellent enjoyment [arises].
3.1.62
The wise declare the fruit to be equal to one-fourth of the Garuḍa. / The Bhāgavata, the Śaiva, that spoken by Nandin,
3.1.63
the Pāśupata, the Raiṇuka, and likewise the Bhairava— / these are called tāmasika by those who know the truth of Hari's nature.
3.1.64
From hearing these, O brahmins, [the fruit is] half of one-fourth of the Garuḍa. / Yet among all the Purāṇas, the Bhāgavata is held to be the best.
3.1.65
Its recitation is fully equal to the Vedas, and its hearing yields half of that. / And from hearing it with understanding of the meaning, the merit is remembered to be tenfold.
3.1.66
The speaker obtains twice the merit, and the commentator even more. / Great ones speak of equality with the infinite Vedas, and on account of weightiness and greatness, O brahmins, so also of the Mahābhārata.
3.1.67
Those who know the mystery of Viṣṇu declare that in meaning it even surpasses the Vedas.
3.1.68
Among its parts, the noble say the Bhagavad Gītā is supreme, and likewise the Thousand Names of Viṣṇu; / from hearing those two, great ones declare the fruit to be ten times greater than the rest of the Mahābhārata.
3.1.69
Daityas, taking birth among the families of all brahmins in the Kṛta age, within the [Mahā]bhārata of six thousand [verses], / always cast out some [verses] and insert newly composed ones there.
3.1.70
Knowing Hari, the Lord in the form of Vyāsa then composed the Bhāgavata Purāṇa; / and having fully proclaimed the Viṣṇu Purāṇa, he composed next to that the work named Garuḍa.
3.1.71
Therefore the Garuḍa is the chief Purāṇa, approved by scripture; / there is nothing equal to the Garuḍa in revealing the duties sacred to Viṣṇu.
3.1.72
Just as Janārdana is the foremost among the gods, just as Sudarśana is the foremost among weapons, / just as the horse sacrifice is the foremost among rites, even so Rudra is foremost among devotees whose devotion is broken.
3.1.73
Among rivers [the foremost is] the Gaṅgā, among water-born flowers the lotus, and even so Vāyu among devotees whose devotion is unbroken; / and among the Purāṇas, the Gāruḍa is the foremost: so they say in revealing the reality of Hari.
3.1.73.p1
In the Purāṇa called Gāruḍa, Hari is declared to be the subject to be demonstrated.
3.1.74
Therefore Hari is to be saluted; Hari is declared to be the goal and the worthy recipient.
3.1.75
Because the goddess Śrī has the nature of fortune, obeisance [to her] is remembered immediately after; / he who is beyond, the supreme person, is also remembered as the lord of practitioners.
3.1.76
Therefore Vāyu too is to be bowed to at the beginning of the Purāṇa, O best of the twice-born; / Bhāratī, being of the nature of speech, is to be bowed to immediately after Vāyu.
3.1.77
Nara is called an auxiliary practitioner; because of this, immediately after that, / he is said by the wise to be bowed to, always according to the hierarchy.
3.1.78
Therefore one should bow to Vyāsa because he is the author of the work.
Śaunaka said:
Why indeed is obeisance to the noble Vyāsa to be performed at the end?
3.1.79
Tell the reason for his praise at the end, O you of noble vows!
Sūta said:
Immediately after Viṣṇu, obeisance to Vyāsa is foremost indeed.
3.1.80
For Hari himself is Vyāsa, possessing the nature of the circle of speech;
Vyāsa is by no means stated to be identical with the blessed Hari.
3.1.81
There too I shall explain the reason with reverence, O lords of sages:
Vyāsa is remembered as some [mere] sage in the tāmasa Purāṇas.
3.1.82
Relying on such a notion, the daityas, along with the followers of the daityas, / enter into blind darkness; therefore he is saluted at the end.
3.1.83
This supreme secret is to be retained in the heart, no doubt;
obeisance is stated only for the highest, because the subject to be demonstrated here [is Hari alone].
3.1.84
For through the state of conciseness and expansion, that is understood of the highest;
they would not know that reality, because Hari is the [sole] foundation.
3.1.85
Hari and Vyāsa are indeed one; yet Vyāsa is remembered as like Hari;
their state of being the foundation and being the lord belongs to the two of them alone, no doubt.
3.1.86
Because she enters into the category of the Lord, lordship is stated of Śrī;
because the three are foundations and are to be served, their lordship is remembered.
3.1.87
Because the three beginning with Vāyu are to be served, service [to them] is remembered;
Māruti is indeed the principal limb of Viṣṇu in removing the burden of the earth.
3.1.88
Bhāratī, having the nature of speech, is remembered as his second limb;
Śeṣa is the third limb of Hari; they are not to be bowed to as equals of Hari.
3.1.89
Those who are to be demonstrated principally are indeed stated to be bowed to;
and those beginning with Vāyu are intermediate, therefore they are not remembered as bowed to [in that manner].
3.1.90
Because names such as Bhīṣma and Droṇa are continually
denotative primarily of [the deities present in] Bhīma and others, they are to be bowed to, O lords of sages.
3.1.91
Only the highest possess the quality of being bowed to and of being the subject to be demonstrated;
all this has been declared by me; what else do you wish to hear?
3.1.91.p1
Thus ends the first chapter, entitled 'Determination of the division of Purāṇas into sāttvika and others, and the division of deities to be bowed to and not to be bowed to', in the Brahmakāṇḍa, the third section of the Uttarakhaṇḍa, in the conversation between Sūta and Śaunaka in the venerable Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa.
3.2.1
The venerable Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa — 2.
Śrī Śaunaka said:
How did the Blessed One create the presiding deities of those various cosmic principles?
I do not know the order of creation, nor the hierarchy of the gods, O sage.
3.2.2
Having been addressed by Śaunaka, Sūta spoke these words.
Sūta said:
Your intellect is rightly resolved, O best of brahmin sages!
3.2.3
Just so was a question asked of Hari by Garuḍa;
what Hari said to him, that I will declare to you, O sinless one.
Garuḍa said:
Speak of the creation, O blessed one, whose form is being, consciousness, and bliss!
3.2.4
When creation is known, your supremacy will be almost fully known;
and I will have the knowledge of the hierarchy of Brahmā and the others.
3.2.5
The means of liberation that was stated by you—another means to that [is now asked].
Having been addressed by Garuḍa, Kṛṣṇa spoke these words.
3.2.6
Śrī Kṛṣṇa said:
He is to be known in his primordial form, for the imperishable Viṣṇu is so by virtue of being all-pervading.
3.2.7
This incarnation is declared solely on account of his plenitude, O you of noble vows;
assuming oneness though manifold, he sleeps for the dissolution [of the cosmos].
3.2.8
Even there, a distinction exists: the reality itself is to be known as he.
3.2.9
Through seeing Viṣṇu’s attributes, forms, limbs, happiness, and the like
as different, or through seeing them as different-and-non-different, / or through seeing [imperfection] right there, one would quickly go to darkness.
3.2.10
Those who are conceived beginning from another person, O best of the twice-born, / are to be known as forms of Hari; for they are united with him.
3.2.11
When the cosmic dissolution arrives, those individual souls of mine go [to him];
they reside in the cosmic body of Hari, and then they are manifold.
3.2.12
They attain oneness with the primordial form at the cosmic dissolution, O twice-born;
if Viṣṇu himself were to attain oneness with the prototype,
3.2.13
how could the individual soul be a reflection of Nārāyaṇa?
The soul is dependent on Hari and similar to him, no doubt.
3.2.14
Such is the meaning of the word 'reflection' that has been stated;
therefore, one should not think of the prototype-forms as [merely] unified.
3.2.15
Oneness is intended just as in the case of Kṛṣṇa, Rāma, and others;
difference between the prototype-forms and the primordial form is not intended here.
3.2.16
Even there, a distinction exists that must be known by those desiring reality;
by one portion, they indeed attain oneness with the prototypes,
3.2.17
and by one portion, they remain in the state of the individual soul, no doubt.
Those persons who do not know the source of the prototype are remembered as asuras.
3.2.18
Hari alone, having been one previously, under the influence of ignorance
becomes manifold immediately, like a reflection in a mirror—
3.2.19
the fools who speak thus also go to the lowest darkness.
The adjunct is declared to be of two kinds: inherent and external.
3.2.20
The external adjunct undergoes dissolution, while the other persists in liberation;
for if all adjuncts were destroyed, how could there be a reflection?
3.2.21
The adjunct known as consciousness belongs to those who are eligible for liberation;
but the adjunct consisting of suffering belongs to those eligible for darkness;
3.2.22
the adjunct consisting of a mixture is held to belong to those perpetually in saṃsāra;
the subtle body is the external adjunct for all, no doubt.
3.2.23
Because the daityas suffer, Hari is himself said to suffer [in them];
because of having the nature of their respective sufferings, he is the prototype-form of the daityas.
3.2.24
One should not think of mutual difference or distinction
among the prototype-forms residing in the daityas and the primordial form of the Lord.
3.2.25
Among the forms such as Śrī, Bhū, and Durgā, and likewise among those taking forms such as Sītā, / between one another there is not the slightest difference, externally or internally.
3.2.26
If it is conceived [as different] in any way, having known [so], they go to lower darkness; / the original object residing in the reflection indeed always possesses a female form.
3.2.27
When the dissolution arrives, O best of birds, / [those forms] remaining together with the archetype do not attain merger with Lakṣmī.
3.2.28
Between the forms abiding in the archetype and Lakṣmī, O son of Vinatā, / not even an atom of difference should ever be suspected.
3.2.29
When indeed the all-pervading Lord sleeps on the ocean of dissolution, having placed all individual souls inside his belly, / the liberated ones, beginning with Brahmā, Indra, and the hosts of Maruts, and those who are to attain liberation, abiding in his sons, […]
3.2.30
and all the souls who have fallen into the blind well [of hell] and the like, as well as the others destined for Kali, / and likewise the people who dwell eternally in the cycle of transmigration, [and] insentient souls such as trees and the like—
3.2.31
having thus placed these beings in his belly, he sleeps soundly upon the water during the cosmic dissolution; / while Lakṣmī, who is the embodiment of all the Vedas, though ever thriving through devotion to Hari,
3.2.32
showing immense reverence, as it were, praised Viṣṇu, though thriving through devotion; / at that time there was nothing in the form of activity and the like apart from Viṣṇu and Śrī.
3.2.33
The goddess became his couch; Ramā shone forth in the form of his garment; / Ramā herself was everything at that time; that single goddess spoke in many forms:
3.2.34
"You are preeminent because you are the highest of all gods; no one is your equal or superior. / You alone are Brahman, not the four-faced [Brahmā], nor am I, nor Rudra, nor Bṛhaspati.
3.2.35
The word 'Brahman' is indeed primary in Viṣṇu alone; in others, beginning with Brahmā and Rudra, it is secondary. / Because he is full of infinite qualities, Hari is called Brahman.
3.2.36
Because of the absence of fullness of qualities and the like, others are not called Brahman. / Infinity in terms of space, quality, or time—there is no infinity [for them] anywhere in space or time.
3.2.37
When that is so, what need is there to say here that there is no infinity of qualities in Brahmā and the rest? / Even though I am equal in terms of space and time with Vāsudeva,
3.2.38
nevertheless I do not have infinity in terms of qualities; therefore his attributes are infinite in qualities, / and they are uncontradicted in the Veda; in God they are to be meditated upon and are incomprehensible, manifold, and infinite.
3.2.39
Therefore, O God Viṣṇu, we are never able to fully praise the qualities of Hari— / not I, nor Keśa, nor Sarasvatī, nor Rudra, nor the daughter of Dakṣa, nor the daughter of Menakā;
3.2.40
nor indeed Indra, nor the daughter of Puloman, nor Idhmavāha, nor Yama, nor anyone else; / neither Nārada, nor Bhṛgu, nor Vasiṣṭha, nor Gaṇeśa, nor Bali and the rest;
3.2.41
nor indeed Virāṭ, nor Bhīma, nor Saturn, nor Puṣkara, nor Kaśeru; / nor Kinnaras, ancestors, nor gods, nor the chief Gandharvas, nor those known as Tuṣitas;
3.2.42
nor kings of the earth, nor mortal men—they do not know Viṣṇu, what to speak of others here? / Brahmā is inferior to me by a crore of qualities, and Mātariśvan is equal to that Brahmā.
3.2.43
Those two are indeed equal in dispassion, in devotion to Hari, in firmness, endurance, vital force, strength, yoga, / and intellect, in the cycle of transmigration and at the time of liberation, and mutually supportive.
3.2.44
The great ones call Murāri the presiding deity of food, Brahman; they call Vāyu the presiding deity of individual souls; / that god Brahmā is not capable of dwelling eternally in transmigration without Vāyu;
3.2.45
nor can Mātariśvan dwell without him; there is mutual dependence and difference in time: / when the noble one became the ruler of the principle of intellect in the gross creation inside the cosmic egg,
3.2.46
then the noble Vāyu was not able [to act] in the outer creation, and there is a distinction of time. / Sarasvatī and Bhāratī arose one year after Brahmā.
3.2.47
When ten years had passed, O noble one, then Vāyu became worshipful to the world; / there was a slight inferiority in the gross creation, O noble one, but not by that much is there any loss of their benevolence.
3.2.48
Sarasvatī arose one year after the time of Brahmā's birth; / compared to Speech, there is an inferiority in time for Vāyu, so what harm is there in that relative inferiority?
3.2.49
Speech arose after Vāyu, after one year; / as long as there is subsequent birth, so long does destruction of the prior body occur.
3.2.50
Śeṣa, Indra, and Rudra—these three are equal even in knowledge, strength, and the like; nevertheless, there is inferiority of time among them, and their time is two thousand years.
3.2.51
Ananta and Rudra should be known just like Brahmā and Vāyu; there is no diminution in their essential nature; / in the gross creation and in the outer creation, O noble one, inferiority in time is not to be thought of by me.
3.2.52
After them, Vāruṇī, Pārvatī, and the one named Sauparṇī—these three, O noble one, / arose after ten years, and should be understood like Sarasvatī and Bhāratī.
3.2.53
Indra is superior to the wives of Rudra and the rest; such knowledge should always be granted without dullness; / whoever has such knowledge in the world, he indeed is a knower, he alone is to be known through the Vedas.
3.2.54
He who does not know this distinction is not a knower; he is a mere disputant of the Vedas, not a true reciter of the Vedas.
3.2.55
As many syllables of the Vedas as are recited by the twice-born, / so many are the names of Hari, and they are ever dear to Hari.
3.2.56
"Hari is eternally my master, I am ever the servant of Hari; / all deities beginning with Brahmā are my gurus in their proper order.
3.2.57
And Hari is the master of these [gods]"—this is sung everywhere in the Veda; / the one who recites the Vedas knowing thus is the best of the twice-born.
3.2.58
He is to be known as a true reciter of the Vedas; others are mere disputants of the Vedas; / weighed down by the burden of the Vedas, such a brāhmaṇa is indeed a donkey.
3.2.59
One proud of knowledge and one proud of the Vedas—both constantly say to each other: / the Veda is the water where Murāri dwells, due to the fault of associating with teachers of the twice-born.
3.2.60
There are great offenses in the world, O noble one, by thousands, hundreds, and crores; / and Hari, being compassionate, always forgives them through the remembrance of his three names.
3.2.61
When the noble Viṣṇu sees the offense of one devoid of all offense [confessions], full of gifts and honors, but ever lacking [knowledge of the divine] hierarchy, / he cries out in distress with an angry mind:
3.2.62
"Arise, O Govinda, knowable through the true Vedas! May he protect, whose name is praised; be completely pleased with me! / O Keśava, whose nature is bliss, arise, you who are capable of directing creation and dissolution!
3.2.63
Having created Brahmā, you impel him to the venerable creation; having created Rudra, you impel him to destruction; / having examined and recognized the gods beginning with Brahmā and Śeṣa who are fit to attain [it], grant them complete liberation!"
3.2.64
O Hari, O Murāri, devoid of slumber, rise now! From the ignorance that follows the beginning of the kalpa, / seeing fully through the vision of karmic deeds, O Great-Souled One, darkness has been obtained, burning, whose nature is suffering.
3.2.65
Since the daityas and others, whose intellects are filled with suffering, [are cast] into blinding darkness, while you are eternally of the nature of pure consciousness, / therefore they say you, Hari, are of the nature of suffering [to them]; from the nature of suffering, you become one afflicted with sorrow, O Hari.
3.2.66
Arise, O Nārāyaṇa, Vāsudeva! Arise, O Kṛṣṇa, Acyuta, Mādhava! / Arise, O Vaikuṇṭha, whose form is moist with compassion! Arise, O Lord of Lakṣmī! Reverence, reverence to you!
3.2.67
Arise, O Lord of Madhva, Lord of Sarasvatī! Arise, O Lord of Rudra and Lord of Ambikā! / Arise, O Lord of the Moon, Lord of Śacī, Lord of the brahmins, Lord of devotees, Lord of cattle, eternally!
3.2.68
O Lover of scripture, arise! You who are fond of the Ṛgveda, arise, lover of the Yajurveda, whose form is the ultimate cause! / You are fond of the Sāmaveda, O Murāri, and always fond of the Atharvaveda.
3.2.69
You are fond of prose, O embodiment of the Purāṇas! Arise, lover of praise, whose forms are manifold! / You alone bring delight in melodious singing; arise quickly, O husband of Kamalā!
3.2.70
Thus praised, Viṣṇu, unborn and primeval, arose with great haste, he who is eternally bound [by devotion].
3.2.70.p1
Thus ends the second chapter, entitled 'Determination of the Hierarchy of Deities Beginning with Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Maheśvara', in the Brahmakāṇḍa of the third part of the Uttarakhaṇḍa in the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa, in the dialogue between Kṛṣṇa and Garuḍa.
3.3.1
The glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa—3.
The glorious Kṛṣṇa said: / A desire arose in me, the god Viṣṇu, to create those fit to be created, and to liberate those fit for liberation. / Viṣṇu's power of will exists eternally; nonetheless, its declaration is conventional.
3.3.2
Then Hari took up a worldly form, and in that form he drank the darkness. / The ignorant call that form material; indeed, they all enter into blinding darkness.
3.3.3
All incarnations of Mahāviṣṇu are declared to be complete; / and that supreme form is complete; from the complete, complete [forms] have emerged.
3.3.4
Their hierarchy of higher and lower exists solely by the distinction of manifestation; / there is in no way any superiority or inferiority due to space, time, or capacity.
3.3.5
The prior form is complete, and complete is [the form] that has gone into the state of […] ; / taking that form into himself, only the complete remains.
3.3.6
This worldly activity, such as destroying the burden of the earth, / without his gaze there is no other dissolution by Kṛṣṇa and the rest anywhere.
3.3.7
Torment should not be inflicted upon the truth; through that, one experiences sorrows; / from excessive harassment of it, disease comes to him—there is no doubt.
3.3.8
However, concerning what ought to be known, pressure should indeed be applied together with the guru; / they call him an indwelling pupil, and he alone is traditionally regarded as a guru.
3.3.9
Those two who together engage in inquiry into the reality of Hari, / they alone are teacher and pupil, O you who bring joy to Vinatā.
3.3.10
Joking may be done even with a guru, provided it is without malice. / A pupil filled with joy and impatience, [and] a guru possessed of deceit—
3.3.11
both of them go to hell for as long as the moon and stars endure. / The Supreme Person, Hari himself, tawny-eyed, the Great-Souled One, / by his own most auspicious virility, the Lord, full of vigor, deposited his seed into his own māyā composed of the guṇas.
3.3.12
Garuḍa said: / Tell me the nature of that seed, O Vāsudeva; doubt arises in me concerning your seed. / Is the seed identical with the Lord's own nature, or is it distinct? Tell me, for you know well.
3.3.13
The glorious Kṛṣṇa said: / The seed that the Lord Hari himself deposited into that called māyā, O son of Vinatā, / that seed the wise who see determined truth declare to be the very nature of Nṛhari.
3.3.14
They declare it to be distinct, and declare it to be merely material, to be understood like the lotus from his own navel. / Not on that account should it be thought that there is any loss of virility for Viṣṇu, whose form is knowledge.
3.3.15
The Blessed One, Vāsudeva, is the embodiment of seed in all places and at all times; / if he were not possessed of all objects, O King of Birds, then he would not be the Supreme Lord, the Person.
3.3.16
Possessed of inconceivable and conceivable energies, he has two forms: one female form, and the other male. / Both forms possess virile power, O King of Birds; their non-difference should indeed be properly contemplated.
3.3.17
If he did not possess a female form, O King of Birds, how could women be reflections?
3.3.18
Therefore, the female form born of Brahman is to be contemplated as real; this essential form should not be thought of otherwise. / It should not be contemplated like a female form; know that the neuter is indeed generated from it.
3.3.19
The neuter is never his essential nature; therefore it is not to be contemplated in Hari. / In the form of Hari that is the prototype of woman, O King of Birds, one should contemplate that the form of Śrī exists.
3.3.20
Garuḍa said: / The wise declare union of a woman with a woman to be futile; / yet in the prototype that has a female form, female forms exist always.
3.3.21
Tell me the reason for their presence there, O Kṛṣṇa, my Lord!
3.3.22
The glorious Kṛṣṇa said: / If Lakṣmī were not present in the female form that is the prototype of women, O King of Birds, / how could she be the goddess who is never separated from the Supreme Self?
3.3.23
Among the infinite forms of Hari that are female forms, O King of Birds, / she is constantly engaged in service through an infinity of infinite forms.
3.3.24
Therefore, any separation from Lakṣmī is not to be suspected in any way. / Hari named Nārāyaṇa is independent; he is never without Śrī, O Tārkṣya, / who serves the lotus feet of Hari Mukunda with supreme reverence.
3.3.25
Those desiring liberation must understand that even Śrī does not exist in space or time without Hari. / 'That [māyā] in which he continually deposited seed belongs to me and is of the nature of magic'—
3.3.26
so say the asuras, who are fools, and they all enter into blinding darkness. / But the noble declare that māyā is indeed prakṛti, very subtle in form, and not a magician's trick.
3.3.27
Her self-identification is to be known as Śrī; the depositing of seed is their union there. / The noble declare their union to be inclined toward effects; beyond this, the noble do not assert another form of Viṣṇu.
3.3.28
She is beginningless, eternal, and of the nature of truth belonging to Viṣṇu; how could she be of false nature, O King of Birds? / The body of prakṛti is real, deeply concealed; they speak of truth as being for the sake of practical experience.
3.3.29
If the reality of prakṛti were merely empirical, then how could it be beginningless? / If it were not beginningless and eternal, O King of Birds, it could not be the cause in a subtle form.
3.3.30
[Garuḍa said:] / If it is the cause in a subtle form, then tell [me] the cause of the manifold world. / Under the influence of ignorance (avidyā), it is only Viṣṇu that is seen in manifold forms, only Viṣṇu.
3.3.31
Through the knowledge of the scriptures, ignorance is indeed destroyed—there is no doubt—and one attains oneness with Hari. / If you speak thus by way of argument, O King of Birds, I shall tell you the reasoning regarding that; listen to it.
3.3.32
[The Blessed Lord said:] / For how could ignorance ever occur to me, Murāri, to Hari, whose nature is omniscient? / Just as there is no darkness in the sun, so in Nārāyaṇa, in Hari, / there is no ignorance, O King of Birds. Ah, how can you speak of such a principle?
3.3.33
Therefore, if [you argue that] ignorance arises because of connection with an adjunct (upādhi) from beginningless time, [such as:] 'I am not a brāhmaṇa'— / where is that omniscient Viṣṇu, O King of Birds, and where is the individual soul (jīva), of little knowledge and devoid of wisdom?
3.3.34
And how could the Vedas ever declare oneness of these two, which are mutually contradictory? / [He is] always free from suffering in every place and time, the creator of the universe, endowed with full power at all times;
3.3.35
the individual soul always has little agency, filled constantly with the nature of worldly existence (saṃsāra) and of suffering. / And they who hold the illusion doctrine (māyin) declare the oneness of these two contradictory ones through the power of God's illusion (māyā).
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Linked texts (1)
- Garuḍapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit