Garudapurana 3.21

English (machine translation) 3.21

Language: English

3.21.33 — 1 part

3.21.1

Glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa — [Chapter] 21 / The blessed Kṛṣṇa said: / I shall also speak of Kālindī’s birth, O King of Birds. / There was the sun named Vivasvat; to him a daughter was born,

3.21.2

Named Kālindī, O chief of birds, who is known as Yamunā's younger sister. / With the desire to become Kṛṣṇa’s wife, she practiced supreme austerity.

3.21.3

Austerity is declared to be reflection and ascertainment of the principles; / repentance for sins accumulated in the past is considered austerity.

3.21.4

Austerity is designated by the name prāya; citta is said to be control of the mind. / This is called 'prāyaścitta' (expiation), not tonsure of the head, O King of Birds.

3.21.5

Hear that, filled with repentance, which took place, O King of Birds: / "Formerly, the divine mantra was not muttered, O Mukunda; [I was] ever tormented by the forest fire of afflictions.

The nectar of Hari's name was not remembered at all, while the faults and such of Hari were constantly remembered; / the nectar of Hari’s truth was not remembered, while fickle gossip and the like was eagerly listened to.

3.21.7

Hari’s lotus feet were not worshipped, whereas sons, friends, and others were well worshipped; / Hari’s lotus feet were not saluted, whereas the terrible feet of friends were thoroughly saluted.

3.21.8

Hari’s face, encircled by fragrant incense-smoke and covered with locks of hair, was not beheld; / sons and others were pampered indeed, O Mukunda, but your face was not cherished, O Murāri!

3.21.9

Sons and friends were well adorned with ornaments, but the remover of all sins was not cherished; / the remnants of food offered to Hari were not consumed, while food of six tastes was eaten in the house of friends.

3.21.10

Fragrant flowers and scents were not offered to you, O Murāri, but were offered to sons, friends, and the like; / I have suffered greatly on account of sons, friends, and the like; when shall I behold your face, O Mukunda?

3.21.11

My tongue has been burned by food of non-Vaiṣṇavas, by drumstick leaves and the like, by unoffered foods, and also by unpurified / and inedible foods; when shall I behold your face, O Mukunda?

3.21.12

My body has not been purified, O Murāri, through the worship with the eight-syllabled mantra and divine holy waters, the conch-waters previously circumambulated around Viṣṇu; / when shall I behold your face, O Mukunda?

3.21.13

My body has been burned by unoffered perfumes, flowers, and the like, by unoffered ornaments and garments, / and by the pollution of scents and such smeared by non-Vaiṣṇavas; when, O Mukunda, shall I deliver it?

3.21.14

Both my feet are burned, O Vāsudeva, not walking on the path to Hari's sacred place; / and both my eyes are burned for all time, not having gazed upon your form, O God!

3.21.15

Both my hands are burned, O Vāsudeva, not having worshipped your form, O Viṣṇu! / An array of sins has been committed by me, O Murāri; when shall I behold your face, O Mukunda?

3.21.16

O Perfect One, not counting my faults, grant compassion out of pure servitorship, O Mukunda! / As many hairs as there are upon my body, O Lord far removed from all defects,

3.21.17

So many sins are on my body; when shall I behold your face, O Mukunda? / Across endless bodies, with husbands, sons, and homes, with friends, wealth, cattle, and servants,

3.21.18

Not even a fraction of happiness was obtained, O Mukunda, while the service of you, God Viṣṇu, was abandoned! / Henceforth I shall not go after sons, friends, and the like; I shall become your servant.

3.21.19

Whoever might say that complete happiness arises in the mortal world through sons, friends, and the like, / urine, feces, and the like have fallen completely into their mouths at all times—so I consider.

3.21.20

Whatever wealth was spent on friends and others went in vain and became of the nature of filth; / whatever wealth was spent on true Vaiṣṇavas ever becomes the cause of attaining Hari.

3.21.21

Such as it was, that has occurred, O Mukunda; enough, indeed enough of the sorrow that was endured through it! / Do grant always the company of good people, away from the company of wicked people!

3.21.22

Through association always with the wicked, O Murāri, my body has been burned, not endowed with detachment; / being such, to what state shall I go, O Mukunda? I do not know; protect me with compassion!"

3.21.23

Such indeed is repentance, O King of Birds, [which is true] expiation, and not tonsure and the like. / Having made repentance, the Sun’s daughter reflected upon the true nature of Hari:

3.21.24

Hari alone is ever the supreme, because he is complete with all attributes; / and because the entire universe is born from him in creation, therefore Hari is complete with all attributes.

3.21.25

He who is the foremost among the gods is the syllable 'A' itself, because Brahmā and the others are not all complete; / by the grace of Lakṣmī and through long-standing merit, Viriñca was born possessed of complete attributes as is fitting.

3.21.26

Viriñca is not full of attributes like Lakṣmī, nor is even Ramā full of attributes like Viṣṇu; / nor is Bhāratī complete like Vāyu, nor is even Vāruṇī complete like Śeṣa.

3.21.27

Pārvatī indeed is not complete in form like Rudra, and others also are never thus complete at all. / Having thus reflected, she performed austerities on the bank of the Yamunā.

3.21.28

At that time, O bird, I went to the bank of the Yamunā with Pārtha for hunting. / Seeing her performing austerities there, I spoke then to my friend Pārtha:

3.21.29

“O Pārtha, go quickly near the maiden, and ask: ‘Why are you performing austerities here?’” / Thus addressed, he went near her and promptly asked this reason.

3.21.30

Having returned, Phālguna related the whole account to me beside him. / Then, at an auspicious moment, I properly took her hand in marriage there.

3.21.31

By her austerities and by constantly thinking of me, I—ever most pleased—became pleased. / What pleasure could there be for me from her, O King of Birds, when I ever delight in absolute bliss?

3.21.32

The marriage was accepted by me only for the purpose of bestowing grace upon her, not for pleasure, O king of birds. / Likewise, I shall describe the beauty of Lakṣmaṇā and the reason for taking her hand, O king of birds.

3.21.33

Listen; I will tell you this secret. For a good disciple, there is no secret kept by a guru.

3.21.33.p1

Thus ends the twenty-first chapter, named “Ascertainment of the Cause of the Lord’s Marriage to Kālindī,” in the Brahmakāṇḍa, the third section of the Uttarakhaṇḍa in the glorious Garuḍa Mahāpurāṇa.

Linked texts (1)

Garuḍapurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit