The Bhagavata Purana 2

by Bibek Debroy

  ‘In this world, there are insolent people. Because of insolence alone, they kill animals. In that world, they fall into the hell known as Vaishasa. 387 When they fall into that hell, they are made to suffer and are killed.

  ‘In this world, there may be a dvija. 388 Despite his wife belonging to the same varna, confounded by desire, he may make her drink his semen. Because of this wicked deed, in the next world, he is made to fall into a river of semen and forced to drink this semen. 389

  ‘In this world, there are bandits, arsonists and poisoners. Alternatively, kings and servants of kings plunder villages and caravans. After death, Yama’s messengers make them confront seven hundred and twenty hounds, which are ferocious and possess teeth that are like the vajra. They eat them up. 390

  ‘In this world, a person may bear false witness, or lie somehow, while transacting objects and donating. After death, such a person goes to the hell named Avichi. He is taken to the summit of a mountain that is one hundred yojanas in height and without any support, is hurled down, face downwards, towards a flat and rocky surface that seems to be made out of water. Since there are no waves, 391 his body is shattered into fragments that are as small as sesamum seeds. If he does not die, he is raised up and flung down again.

  ‘In this world, a brahmana, a king or a vaishya may drink soma, though he is not entitled to do so. Or being confused, may drink liquor while observing a vow, or make his wife drink it. Such people are conveyed to a hell. Their chests are crushed with feet. Iron molten by the fire are poured into their mouths. 392

  ‘In this world, a person may know himself to be inferior, because of birth, austerities, learning, conduct, varna or ashrama. However, because of his own nature, he may not show great respect to those who are superior. He is as good as dead. When he dies, he is conveyed to the hell known as Kshara-kardama. 393 With his head facing downwards, he is hurled down and faces many kinds of terrible hardships.

  ‘In this world, there are men who worship with human sacrifices. There are also women who eat the flesh of men thus sacrificed. These people are like animals. People who kill in this way are tormented in Yama’s abode. Those killers are sliced to bits by large numbers of rakshasas, who drink their blood and happily dance and sing, just like those cannibals did in this world. 394

  ‘In this world, in forests and in villages, there are those who approach and create trust in innocent people who wish to be protected. Thereafter, they play with them with spears, or tie them up with ropes, thus causing them pain. After death, such people are tormented by Yama and their bodies are transfixed with spears. 395 They are afflicted by hunger and thirst. They are tormented by birds like herons and vultures, possessing sharp beaks. In this state, they remember their own wicked deeds.

  ‘In this world, there are men who are naturally angry, causing pain to living creatures. They are like dandashukas. 396 After death, they fall into the hell named Dandashuka. There are five-heaed and seven-headed dandashukas there. They approach and devour them like mice.

  ‘In this world, there are people who confine creatures into blind holes, granaries and caves. When they enter the next world, they are confined in a similar way, suffering from fire and poisonous fumes. 397

  ‘In this world, the master of a household may often be angry if unexpected guests turn up, desiring to burn them down with his angry glances. He glances at them with wicked eyes. In hell, there are vultures, herons, crows and other birds that possess beaks like the vajra. With great force, they violently pluck out his wicked eyes. 398

  ‘In this world, a person may be proud because of his wealth, and insolent. His vision is crooked and he suspects everyone, thinking about his wealth being spent or destroyed. His heart and mouth dry up at the prospect. Not being able to find peace, he guards his wealth like an imp. After death, he becomes an imp, because earning, increase and protection of the wealth has led to an accumulation of sins. As an imp that seeks to seize wealth, he falls down into the hell known as Shuchi-mukha. 399 Like skilled tailors, Dharmaraja’s servants stitch all the limbs on his body with thread.

  ‘O lord of the earth! In this way, there are hundreds and thousands of hells in Yama’s abode. All of them are for all those who follow the path of adharma. Some have been described and some have not been mentioned. Depending on the degree, all such people progressively enter there. After this world, those who follow dharma are again born in this world, when their good and bad deeds are exhausted. The attributes of the path of nivritti have been described towards the beginning. 400 These are the dimensions of the cosmic egg. The Puranas have thought of them as being divided into fourteen worlds. They have been described as the gross form of the great being himself, the illustrious Narayana. This form results from his own maya and gunas and has been narrated. If a person faithfully reads, hears, explains it to other people, or chants about the illustrious one, his intelligence becomes purified. Devotion and faith develop in him. He comprehends the paramatman, who is so very difficult to grasp. After having heard about the gross and subtle forms of the illustrious one, a person who has controlled himself must concentrate on the gross form. When he has control over his atman, his intelligence will gradually convey him towards the subtle form. O king! I have thus described the earth, dvipas, varshas, rivers, mountains, the sky, oceans, nether regions, directions, hells, stellar and other regions to you. The gross form of the lord is extraordinary. He is the refuge for all the living creatures.’

  This ends the Fifth Skandha.

  Sixth Skandha

  Chapter 6(1): 68 shlokas

  Chapter 6(2): 49 shlokas

  Chapter 6(3): 35 shlokas

  Chapter 6(4): 54 shlokas

  Chapter 6(5): 44 shlokas

  Chapter 6(6): 44 shlokas

  Chapter 6(7): 40 shlokas

  Chapter 6(8): 41 shlokas

  Chapter 6(9): 55 shlokas

  Chapter 6(10): 32 shlokas

  Chapter 6(11): 27 shlokas

  Chapter 6(12): 36 shlokas

  Chapter 6(13): 23 shlokas

  Chapter 6(14): 61 shlokas

  Chapter 6(15): 29 shlokas

  Chapter 6(16): 65 shlokas

  Chapter 6(17): 41 shlokas

  Chapter 6(18): 78 shlokas

  Chapter 6(19): 33 shlokas

  Chapter 6(1)

  Parikshit said, ‘O illustrious one! Towards the beginning, 401 you have spoken about the path of nivritti. Through yoga, the brahman is gradually realized and samsara ceases. O sage! The characteristic of pravritti 402 is objectives that result from the three gunas. Therefore, one continues to be associated with the gunas of Prakriti and is born again and again. Many hells, characterized by adharma, have also been described. The first manvantara, of Svayambhuva, has also been described. You have described the lineages of Priyavrata and Uttanapada and their conduct, dvipas, varshas, oceans, mountains, rivers, gardens, trees, the location of the earth’s globe and its divisions, attributes and measurements, the stellar regions and the nether regions, exactly as they were created by the lord. O immensely fortunate one! In hells, men face many terrible hardships. Now explain to me how they can avoid this.’

  Shri-Shuka replied, ‘When one commits a sin, in this world itself, a person must atone for it with thoughts, words and deeds. Otherwise, it is certain that after death, he will go to hell. I have already described to you the hardships one faces there. Therefore, before that happens, one must try to free oneself from those sins, before one is incapacitated by old age or death. This is just like a skilled physician diagnoses the gravity or lightness of a disease and identifies the medication.’

  The king said, ‘On the basis of what he has seen or heard, a person knows what is bad for himself. Nevertheless, he helplessly commits sin. How can there be atonement 403 if he keeps committing it? Sometimes, he refrains from sin. But sometimes, he commits it again. Therefore, like the washing of an elephant, 404 I think that atonement serves no purpose.’

  Shri-Shuka replied, ‘For a person who is ignorant,
no act of atonement can completely counter something that has been done. That right of atonement is only for a person who possesses true knowledge. If a person eats wholesome food, a disease can be countered. O king! Similarly, by following the disciplines, one gradually becomes eligible for well-being. A fire destroys a clump of bamboos. Like that, austerities, brahmacharya, control of the mind, control of the senses, renunciation, truthfulness, purity, yama and niyama 405—faithfully observed by patient people who know about dharma, can destroy the greatest of sins committed by thought, words or action. Some are only full of devotion and seek refuge with Vasudeva. All their sins are certainly destroyed, just as the sun dispels the mist. O king! A sinner is not purified by austerities and other things as much as a person who has surrendered his life to Krishna, serving his devotees. In this world, that is the best and appropriate path, bringing freedom from fear. Well-behaved and virtuous people are found on that path, devoted to Narayana. O Indra among kings! Prayashchitta can be performed by a person who has withdrawn from Narayana. But he cannot be purified, any more than rivers can clean a pitcher that has been filled with liquor. Even if a person has surrendered himself to Krishna’s lotus feet even once in this world, becoming attached to his qualities, he has certainly performed all acts of atonement. Even in his dream, he does not see Yama, or his servants, with nooses in their hands.

  ‘In this connection, an ancient account is cited, about a conversation between the messengers of Vishnu and Yama. Listen to me. In Kanyakubja, there was a brahmana named Ajamila. He was the husband of a servant-maid. Because of the taint of being associated with a servant-maid, he deviated from his good conduct. He captured people for ransom, gambled, cheated, stole and resorted to other condemned means of conduct. He troubled other creatures. Through such impure means, he maintained his family. O king! He lived in this way, nurturing his sons. A long period of time passed and he was eighty-eight years old. This aged person had ten sons. The youngest child had the name of Narayana and his parents loved him a lot. Because this young child spoke in a lisping voice, the old man’s heart was attached to him. He looked at his child’s pastimes and was extremely happy. When he ate, he made the child eat. When he drank, he made the child drink. He was tied to the child in bonds of affection and the foolish person did not realize that the time of his death had arrived. The ignorant person continued in this way. When the time of his death arrived, he thought of the child, known as Narayana. He saw three extremely terrible men, with nooses in their hands. Their faces were twisted and their body hair stood up. They had come to take his atman away. Far away, he saw his child, known by the name of Narayana, playing. His senses were agitated and overwhelmed. He called out to him in a loud voice. Hari’s name was chanted through the mouth of a dying person. O great king! On hearing the name of their master, his attendants suddenly arrived. Ajamila was the husband of a servant-maid and Yama’s messengers were about to take him 406 away from inside the heart. However, Vishnu’s messengers energetically stopped them. When Vaivasvata’s attendants were restrained, they asked, “Who are you, opposing us in this way? These are the orders of Dharmaraja. Whose servants are you? Where have you come from? Why are you restraining us? Are you gods or minor divinities? Are you prominent Siddhas? All of you have eyes that are like the petals of lotuses. You are attired in yellow silken garments. You wear diadems and earrings. Your garlands of lotus flowers are dazzling. All of you are young in age. All of you are beautiful and four-armed. You possess beautiful bows, quivers, swords, clubs, conch shells, chakras and lotuses. Through your own radiance, you have illuminated all the directions and destroyed the darkness. What is the reason behind your restraining the servants of the one who protects dharma?” Those who followed Vasudeva’s commands were thus addressed by Yama’s messengers.

  ‘They laughed and replied in voices that rumbled like the thunder of clouds. Vishnu’s messengers said, “If you indeed follow the commands of Dharmaraja, tell us the truth about dharma and the characteristics of adharma. How is punishment imposed? How does one obtain the desired objective? What deeds lead to men being punished? Are all deeds punished, or some of them?” Yama’s messengers replied, “Dharma is what has been stated in the Vedas and adharma is anything that is contrary. We have heard that the Vedas manifested themselves from Narayana himself. He remains in his own abode. He is the one who has thought of these exact manifestations of sattva, rajas, tamas, gunas, names, actions and forms. Surya, Agni, the sky, the wind god, minor divinities, Soma, sandhya, day and night, the directions, water, land, Dharma himself—all of them witness what embodied beings do. Through these witnesses, adharma committed is known and the place for imposition of punishment determined. After considering all the deeds that have been committed, the appropriate punishment is imposed on the doer. O unblemished ones! In the case of auspicious acts, the determination is the opposite. The doer is attached to the gunas. No one with a body can avoid performing karma. Depending on the dharma or adharma that has been performed in this world, in the next world, one enjoys the respective fruits. O best among divinities! Depending on the combination of the gunas, creatures perform three kinds of acts in this world. It can be inferred that this happens in subsequent worlds too. 407 This present period indicates the attributes of the ones that will precede and follow it. 408 In this way, the combination of dharma and adharma in the present birth indicates that in past and future existences. In his mind, the illustrious Aja 409 can visualize the future. Like that, the god resides in his city and through his mental powers, can visualize the past and future states. 410 A person submerged in darkness is ignorant and acts according to what is manifest. 411 He does not know about his past and future lives. When he is born, that memory is destroyed. He acts with the five organs of action and the five senses. He only knows the five objects of the senses. In addition, there is the sixteenth. 412 And there is the seventeenth, which is he himself. 413 With these, he experiences three kinds of states. 414 This linga sharira consists of sixteen parts and the three great potencies. 415 Based on these, a man is bound to samsara and undergoes joy, misery and fear. The embodied being is ignorant and has not been able to conquer the six categories. 416 Therefore, though he does not desire it, he undertakes acts. He is like a silkworm that envelopes itself inside a cocoon. Bewildered, he undertakes these acts. No one can remain alive for even an instant without performing acts. 417 The natural force of the gunas 418 incapacitate him and make him undertake these acts. It is the unmanifest 419 which is the cause and from that, one obtains the unmanifest and the manifest. 420 This is like the womb and like the seed, but it is nature which is the strongest. 421 This hardship faced by Purusha is because of association with Prakriti. However, if there is an association with the lord, this is dissipated within a short period of time. This one 422 was full of learning. He was a store of good conduct and qualities. He was firm in his vows, mild, self-controlled, truthful in speech and pure. He knew about the mantras. He was without ahamkara and served seniors, guests and the aged. He was fraternal towards all creatures. He was virtuous, restrained in speech and without jealousy. One day, acting according to the instructions of his father, this brahmana went to the forest. He collected fruits, flowers, kindling and kusha grass and returned. At that time, he saw a lascivious shudra, along with a harlot. 423 They had drunk madhu and maireya 424 and because of the intoxication, their eyes rolled. She was shameless and her garment, loosened at the waist, had fallen down. They were sporting, singing and laughing, nearby. He saw her in this embrace of desire, her arms smeared with unguents. Suddenly infatuated, he succumbed and lost his heart. As he had heard and learnt, he tried to control himself. However, his mind was agitated by Madana and he was unable to restrain himself. The desire for her was like a demon and made him lose his senses. Thinking about her in his mind, he stopped following his own dharma. Whatever riches he had obtained from his father were expended on satisfying her carnal desires and on pleasing her in every way possible. The brahmana had married into a great li
neage and his own wife was still young. However, the wicked one soon abandoned her, having been pierced by the glances of the svairini. 425 Thus, this condemned person did what he willed, transgressing the sacred texts. A long period of time elapsed and his life was spent on the impure and the unclean. Since he has sinned, we will convey him to the one who holds the rod in his hand. Since he has not atoned, he has to be purified through punishment.”’

  Chapter 6(2)

  Shri-Shuka said, ‘O king! The illustrious one’s messengers heard what Yama’s messengers told them. However, they were accomplished in debating and replied.

  ‘Vishnu’s messengers said, “Alas! This is a great pity. In this assembly, those who should know about dharma have been touched by adharma. That is the reason punishment is being imposed on the innocent. The punishment that is being levied is in vain. The protectors of subjects should be virtuous people who are impartial. Only then can they instruct about law. If there is partiality in them, where will subjects seek refuge? The acts of a superior person are emulated by those who are inferior. 426 Whatever they do becomes a yardstick and people follow that. A person places his head on his 427 lap and sleeps in peace. Like an animal, he himself does not know about dharma and adharma. Having trusted the friendship, he is unaware and completely surrenders himself. Since he is compassionate, he deserves to be trusted by all beings. Therefore, he should not cause pain. This one has atoned for sins that have been committed in one crore births. When he was helpless, for the sake of his benediction, he chanted Hari’s name. Because of this, this sinner has certainly completely atoned for all his sins. He has uttered the four aksharas 428 of ‘Narayana’. 429 When Vishnu’s name is uttered, his 430 attention is drawn towards the speaker. A thief, a drunkard, a person who betrays his friend, the killer of a brahmana, a person who has intercourse with his preceptor’s wife, a person who kills a woman, a king, a father or a cow and all other kinds of sinners—perform excellent atonement for all their sins in this way. Those who know about the Vedas have spoken about many kinds of purification for sins, vows and other things. However, the atonement that comes through chanting Hari’s name, which reminds one of Uttamashloka’s qualities, is superior. After performing an act of atonement, if the mind again rushes along a wicked path, then it has been incomplete. For those who desire to eliminate all acts, 431 the constant chanting of Hari’s qualities is the only way, since it cleanses the mind. When he was about to die, he uttered the illustrious one’s name completely. He has already cleansed himself of all his sins. Therefore, do not take him away. The knowledgeable say that if Vaikuntha’s name is chanted, even if it is to address someone else, in jest, in the process of reciting something or negligently, it destroys sins. Thus, if a man accidentally chants Hari’s name while he is falling down, while he stumbles, when he is maimed, scorched, bitten or injured, he does not deserve hardships. Maharshis who know have prescribed heavy and light prayashchitta for heavy and light sins. Those sins are purified through austerities, donations, vows and other things. But these do not destroy the adharma in the heart. That only comes about by serving at his feet. Whether Uttamashloka’s name is chanted consciously or inadvertently, a man’s sins are burnt down, the way a fire burns down kindling. A powerful medicine, even if it is inadvertently imbibed, reveals its potency. This is true of the chanting of a mantra too.”’