by Bibek Debroy
‘The queens 834 replied, “He killed Bhouma 835 and his companions in the battle and found us imprisoned there. He got to know that we were the daughters of kings whom he had defeated in the course of his conquest. He freed us. However, in a desire to be free of samsara, we had been remembering his lotus feet. Therefore, though he has already achieved all his desires, he married us. O virtuous lady! We do not desire a kingdom on earth, a kingdom in heaven, unlimited objects of pleasure, supernatural powers, the status of Parameshthi, 836 anything infinite, or Hari as a destination. We desire only this much, that we should bear the dust of his handsome feet on our heads. He is the wielder of the mace and the dust has been enriched by the fragrance of the kunkuma from Shri’s breasts. We desire what the women of Vraja, the gopas who herd the cows and the plants and grass along the banks desire—the touch of the great-souled one’s feet.’
Chapter 10(84)
Shri-Shuka said, ‘Pritha, Subala’s daughter, 837 Yajnaseni, Madhavi, 838 the wives of the kings and his own gopis were bound to Hari in bonds of love. Krishna is in the atmans of everything. Hearing all this, all of them were extremely amazed and their eyes filled with tears. In this way, the conversation occurred, men with men and women with women. At that time, wishing to see Krishna and Rama, the sages arrived there—Dvaipayana, Narada, Chyavana, Devala, Asita, Vishvamitra, Shatananda, Bharadvaja, Goutama, Rama 839 and his disciples, the illustrious Vasishtha, Galava, Bhrigu, Pulastya, Kashyapa, Atri, Markandeya, Brihaspati, Dvita, Trita, Ekata, Brahma’s sons, 840 Angiras, Agastya, Yajnavalkya, Vamadeva and others. The kings, the Pandavas, Krishna and Rama, and the others had been seated earlier. They quickly arose and bowed down to the ones who are respected throughout the universe. All of them, along with Rama and Achyuta, honoured them and gave them many kinds of offerings—words of welcome, seats, water to wash the feet, arghya, garlands, incense and pastes.
‘When they were happily seated, the illustrious one, whose body protects dharma, addressed them in these words. In the midst of that great assembly, they heard. The illustrious one said, “Wonderful! We have now obtained all the fruits of being born. We have seen the lords of yoga, whom even the gods find it extremely difficult to behold. How can men who are limited in austerities and whose perception of god is limited to those who are worshipped, 841 get an opportunity of seeing you, touching you, questioning you, bowing down to you and worshipping your feet? Water does not constitute tirthas. Gods are not made out of clay and stone. These purify after a long period of time, but the sight of virtuous ones purifies instantly. Agni, Surya, Chandra, the stars, earth, water, space, breath, speech and mind may be worshipped. But these are created by a sense of duality and do not take away sin. However, the service of the learned destroys it instantly. This body is like a corpse, consisting of the three elements. 842 A person whose intelligence is such that he takes this body to be his self, wife and others to be his own, if his intelligence is such that he takes objects made of earth as objects of worship, and if his intelligence is such that he takes water to be a tirtha, then people who know never regard him as wise. He is like a cow or a donkey.” They heard the words of the illustrious Krishna, whose intelligence was unlimited. They were extremely difficult to comprehend. The brahmanas remained seated and silent. Their minds were in a whirl. The sages thought for a long time and decided that since he was the lord who controlled everything, he must have said this for the sake of instructing people. They smiled and spoke to the preceptor of the universe. “We are the best among those who know the truth and we are the foremost among those who have created the universe. However, we are confounded by your maya. The lord’s conduct is hidden in what he does in this world. How wonderful is the illustrious one’s conduct. How wonderful is the lord’s imitated conduct. 843 He makes no efforts, but appears in many kinds of forms. He creates, preserves and destroys, but is not bound down by that. He is like the earth, since the transformations of the earth appear in many names and forms. From time to time, to protect those who are your devotees and to chastise the wicked, you assume the form of sattva. 844 In your own pastimes, you are the eternal path of the Vedas and the atman of varnas and ashramas. You are the supreme Purusha. The brahman is your pure heart. Through austerities, studying and self-control, one can perceive the truth that is beyond the manifest and the unmanifest. O brahman! Those who are born in the lineages of brahmanas use the sacred texts to realize your atman. You are the true abode. You are foremost among those who are devoted to brahmanas and you worship them. Today, our birth, learning, austerities and vision has been rendered successful. You are the destination of the virtuous and the supreme and ultimate benefit and we have met you. O illustrious Krishna! O one who is unlimited in intelligence! We bow down to you. You are the paramatman, but you have shrouded your glory through your own yoga maya. The kings and the Vrishnis find pleasure with you, but they do not know you. You are the lord. You are time. Their atmans are covered in the curtain of maya. A sleeping person’s perception of the reality about his self is coloured by the attributes of the names and forms he sees. He does not know what is distinct from this. 845 In that way, the senses of someone who is confounded by maya takes the names and forms of material objects to be real. His memory is confused. Today, we have seen your feet. They are the source of the tirtha that washes away floods of sins. 846 Extremely perfected yogis hold them in their hearts. However, only those who possess extreme devotion towards you can destroy the sheath of the living body and attain you as a destination. Therefore, show compassion towards your devotees.” O royal sage! Having said this, the sages made up their minds to leave for their own hermitages and sought the permission of Dasharha, Dhritarashtra and Yudhishthira.
‘Seeing that they were about to leave, the immensely illustrious Vasudeva 847 bowed down and clasped their feet. He controlled himself and spoke to them. Vasudeva said, “I bow down to the rishis. All the gods are in them. You should listen to what I have to say. You should explain what karma one should undertake, so that one can counter the effects of karma.” Narada replied, “O brahmanas! It is not surprising that Vasudeva should desire to know this. Thinking Krishna to be his child, he has asked us about what is good for his own atman. 848 In the mortal world, familiarity is the root cause of disregard. Those who live on the banks of the Ganga ignore it and go elsewhere to be purified. His 849 wisdom is not affected by time, creation, destruction and other things. His attributes are his own and there is nothing else that can disrupt them. He is not affected by material hardships, the consequences of karma and the gunas. The lord’s consciousness is not affected. He is absolute, without a second. However, his own powers are enveloped in prana and other things and others take him to be ordinary, just like the sun, when it is shrouded in clouds, mist and eclipses.” O king! After this, while all the kings and Achyuta and Rama heard, the sages addressed Anakadundubhi. “The virtuous have determined the karma that must be undertaken to counter the effect of karmas. One must faithfully perform a sacrifice to Vishnu, the lord of all sacrifices. Wise ones, who possess the insight of the sacred texts, have said that this leads to tranquility of mind. This has been shown to be an easy path of yoga and a pursuit of dharma that delights the mind. For a dvija who is in the householder stage, this is the route to obtain benedictions. With wealth one has oneself earned, one must perform devoted and pure worship to Purusha. The desire for riches is curbed by giving donations at sacrifices. The desire for homes, wives and sons is curbed. O supreme one! In this way, a learned person casts aside all the hardships that are caused to him by the ravages of time. That is the reason patient people have given up the desire for household life and have left for hermitages. O lord! Dvijas have three kinds of debts, to gods, rishis and ancestors. If he gives up his body without first repaying these through sacrifices, studying and sons, 850 his downfall is certain. O immensely intelligent one! You have already been freed from two of those, to rishis and ancestors. Perform a sacrifice to free yourself of the debt to the gods. Having repaid that
, you can be without a shelter. 851 O Vasudeva! You must certainly have worshipped Hari, the lord of the universe, with supreme and great devotion. That is the reason he has become your son.” Hearing their words, the great-minded Vasudeva bowed his head down and gratified them.
‘He asked those rishis to be the officiating priests. O king! He was devoted to dharma and the rishis were requested according to the principles of dharma. In that place, 852 they prepared for a supreme sacrifice. O king! When he was about to be consecrated, the Vrishnis and the kings bathed and attired themselves in excellent garments. They wore garlands of lotuses and decorated themselves with excellent ornaments. The delighted queens wore necklaces made out of gold 853 and wore excellent garments. They smeared themselves with pastes and with objects in their hands, approached the arena marked for the consecration. Drums, tabors, conch shells, larger drums and kettledrums were sounded. Male and female dancers danced. The sutas and magadhas sang words of praise. Along with their husbands, gandharva ladies sang in extremely melodious voices. Following the prescribed ordinances, the officiating priests sprinkled and consecrated him. Surrounded by his eighteen wives, he looked like King Soma, surrounded by the stars. They wore girdles, bangles, necklaces, anklets and earrings. Ornamented and clad in deerskin, he was radiant. O great king! The officiating priests wore silk garments and jewels. The assistant priests were radiant, like at the sacrifice of Vritra’s slayer. 854 Along with their own relatives, sons and wives, Rama and Krishna, the two lords of all living creatures, dazzled because of their own powers. Each part of the sacrifice was performed according to the ordinances. Agnihotra and other aspects were observed. The lord was worshipped through prakrita, vaikrita, dravya and jnana rituals. 855 At the appropriate time, as has been recommended, he gave dakshina to the officiating priests. Though they were ornamented, he gave them ornaments, cows, maidens and extremely expensive gifts. The maharshis made him execute the patni-samjaya and avabhritha parts. With the performer of the sacrifice 856 at the forefront, the brahmanas bathed in Rama’s 857lake. After having bathed, along with his wives, he gave ornaments and garments to the bandis. Wearing ornaments, he worshipped all the varnas and dogs with food. With a lot of gifts, he honoured his relatives, along with their wives and sons, Vidarbha, Kosala, Kuru, Kashi, Kekaya, Srinjaya, the officiating priests, the assistant priests, the large number of gods, men, bhutas, ancestors and charanas. All of them praised the sacrifice and taking the leave of the one who was Shri’s abode, departed.
‘The hearts of Dhritarashtra, his younger brother, 858 the Parthas, Bhishma, Drona, Pritha, the twins, Narada, the illustrious Vyasa, the well-wishers, the matrimonial allies and the relatives were filled with affection and they embraced their relatives, the Yadus. Suffering because of the separation, together with the other people, they left for their own countries. Nanda and the cowherds were worshipped with a great deal of gifts, given by Krishna, Rama, Ugrasena and the others. Devoted to their relatives, they resided for some more time. Thus, Vasudeva easily crossed the great ocean, represented by his wishes. Surrounded by his well-wishers and delighted in his mind, he held Nanda by the hand and spoke to him. Vasudeva said, “O brother! This bond, known as affection among men, has been created by the lord. I think that it is extremely difficult to sever, even for brave ones and yogis. Hence, despite us being ungrateful and undeserving, you supreme ones have shown us this friendship. It has not been reciprocated and can never be repaid. O brother! Earlier, we were incapable of doing anything good towards you. Now, we are blinded by the intoxication of prosperity and do not see that you are right in front of us. O one who deserves to be honoured! The prosperity of a kingdom is not meant for a person who desires benefit for himself. His vision becomes like that of a blind man and he does not see his own relatives and friends.” Thus, Anakadundubhi’s heart was softened by love. He wept. As he remembered the act of friendship that had been done towards him, his eyes filled with tears. Nanda desired to do what would bring pleasure to his friend. He also loved Govinda and Rama. Therefore, he said, “I will leave today” or “I will leave tomorrow”. However, honoured by the Yadus, he resided with them for three months. Along with the residents of Vraja and along with his relatives, all his desires were satisfied. He was given extremely expensive ornaments, silken garments, priceless gifts and furnishings. Thereafter, with the gifts given by Vasudeva, Ugrasena, Krishna, Uddhava, Bala and the others, he left, along with the Yadus. 859 The minds of Nanda, the gopas and the gopis were fixed on the lord Govinda’s lotus feet and they were incapable of withdrawing. They left for Mathura. Krishna was like a divinity to the Vrishnis. When the relatives had departed, on seeing that the monsoon was about to set in, they again returned to Dvaravati. They told the people about the great festivities performed by the lord of the Yadus, 860 about how they had met their well-wishers and about everything else that occurred in the course of their visit to the tirthas.’
Chapter 10(87)
Parikshit asked, ‘O brahmana! The brahman cannot be described and is without gunas. It is supreme and is beyond manifestations and their causes. How can the shruti texts, which are about the conduct of the gunas, be used to directly describe it?’ 861
Shri-Shuka replied, ‘For living beings, the lord created intelligence, senses, mind and prana for material gratification, and samsara so that the atman can be realized. This is what the Upanishads say about the brahman, and the ancestors of our ancestors meditated on this. If a person meditates on this, he is freed from material association and attains success. In this connection, I will describe to you an account connected with Narayana. This is about a conversation between Narada and the rishi Narayana. Once, Narada, loved by the illustrious one, was roaming around the worlds. To meet the ancient rishi, he went to Narayana’s hermitage. From the beginning of the kalpa, he has been there, in this Bharatavarsha, performing austerities with dharma, jnana, self-control and tranquility. He has done this for the welfare of men in this world and in the next one. He was seated there, surrounded by rishis and residents of the village of Kalapa. O extender of the Kuru lineage! He bowed down and asked him exactly this. While the rishis heard, the illustrious one 862 told him about an ancient conversation that had taken place among the residents of Janaloka about the nature of the brahman.
‘The illustrious one 863 said, “O one born from Svayambhu! In ancient times, in Janaloka, there was a sacrifice. There were sages born through mental powers there, those who held up their seed, and they spoke about the brahman. At that time, you had gone to Shvetadvipa to see the lord, who was lying down. 864 There was an extremely well-conducted discussion about the brahman and the shruti texts. What you asked me is exactly the question that was raised there. They were all equal in learning, austerities and good conduct, and they were all impartial in their treatment of their own enemies and neutral parties. Nevertheless, they chose one to speak and the others listened.”
‘Sanandana said, “After swallowing up his own creation, 865 the supreme one lay down, along with his potencies. The shrutis awoke him, describing his signs. 866 This was like a sleeping king being woken at dawn by bandis, his servants, who approach him and use excellent shlokas to praise his valour.”
‘The shrutis said, “Victory to you. O unvanquished one! Victory to you. You are the one who is complete in his atman, with all your potencies. You are the one who awakens the energies of everything, mobile and immobile. Destroy the taints of those who have accepted the gunas. As you engage, the sacred texts can sometimes appreciate your unvanquished atman. The supreme is the foundation of creation and destruction and is pervasive. Like clay, it generates transformations, but is not subject to transformations itself. 867 Therefore, the perceived world is identified with the supreme. The minds, words and conduct of the rishis were immersed in you. 868 The feet of men are placed on earth. How can they ignore the earth on which they dwell? 869 O lord of the three! 870 The wise submerge themselves in the ocean of amrita that your accounts are, and cast aside their torments. These des
troy all impurities from the worlds. What need be said about those who have used their own powers to cleanse their minds of gunas and the effects of time? O supreme one! They worship your true nature and experience infinite and uninterrupted bliss. Only those who follow you truly breathe, the others are like bellows. It is through your favours that Mahat, ahamkara and the others were created from the cosmic egg. You are the ultimate Purusha who enters and animates the forms, annamaya and the others. 871 You are supreme and distinct from the gross and the subtle. You are the underlying reality. Among those who follow the paths of the rishis, those with gross vision worship you in the stomach. 872 The followers of Aruni are more subtle and worship you in the cavity of the heart. 873 O infinite one! Their consciousness rises up to your supreme abode in the crown of the head. 874 A person who reaches that spot no longer falls down into this world, into the mouth of death. You enter the many wonderful species you have yourself created, as if you are their cause. Like the fire, you imitate the forms, superior and inferior, that you yourself have created. 875 Those who are spotless in their intelligence and do not desire anything material comprehend your undifferentiated, unchanging and true manifestation among all these unreal forms. The individual entity resides in these forms because of his own karma, but is covered by the gross and the subtle. You are spoken of 876 as the Purusha who possesses all the powers and these manifestations are your own portions. Thus, wise men have ascertained in the sacred texts that the human state is the field into which the seed is sown. They therefore worship your feet on earth. 877 Faith in you is the means of escaping from samsara. O lord! The truth about the atman is extremely difficult to comprehend. You assume forms to elucidate this. There are those who destroy their exhaustion by submerging themselves into the ocean of amrita represented by your great deeds. Some such people do not desire anything, not even emancipation. They renounce their homes and associate with your devotees, who gather at your lotus feet like swans. When the nest 878 follows the path that leads to you, it behaves like a beloved friend to the atman. You are always eager to help and friendly towards those who seek to ensure for themselves. But alas! There are those who do not find pleasure in you. They worship the unreal and this is like killing their own selves. Because of their desires, they wander around in this fearful existence, in evil physical bodies. There are sages who controlled their breath, mind and senses, firm in their practice of yoga. Thereby, they worshipped you and obtained your state. However, that state was also obtained by your enemies, who constantly remembered you. So did the women, whose minds were attached to your sturdy arms, which were like the coils of the Indra among serpents. You look upon us in the same way. We see you in everything and we will also obtain the nectar of your lotus feet. Indeed, how can anyone who has been born or died after the universal destruction know about someone who existed before all this? The rishi 879 and the large number of gods of both categories 880 who followed him came after that. At that time, the gross and the subtle, the composition of the two, 881 the flow of time and the sacred texts did not exist, since you were lying down and had withdrawn everything. Those who teach that creation results from the unreal, or those who say that the permanent atman dies, or those who posit duality, or those who declare that the material is permanent, base themselves on illusions. Those who believe that Purusha results from the three gunas, or from modifications, 882 say this because of ignorance. This has no basis in you. You are pure knowledge and absolute consciousness. That the real is based on the three modes 883 is a projection of the mind on you. To human beings, the unreal appears in this way. Those who realize the atman consider this universe as real only because it is a projection of the atman. Transformations of gold need not be rejected, because their essence consists of gold. In that way, what you have created and entered can be ascertained to be no different from your atman. Those who worship you as the entity that exists within all beings disregard death and place their feet on its head. However, those who turn away from you are bound down by your words, 884 like animals. Indeed, only those who are devoted to you are purified. Though you possess no material senses, you are self-luminous and the one who wields power over all the senses. Material nature and the gods 885 accept offerings offered to them and worship you. This is like lords of territories offering tribute to the lord of the entire earth. The creators of the universe faithfully execute the tasks that have been assigned to them by you. O liberated one! You are supreme and in your pastimes, when you cast your glances, the energy and motivation of the species know as mobile and immobile objects is awakened. There is nothing that is alien to you. Nor is there anything that is your own. You are like the sky, which has no attributes but resembles the void that it fills. O one who is permanent! If the numerous embodied entities were permanent and could go everywhere, there would be no one to control and rule them. 886 Therefore, it must be otherwise. That which is created is controlled by the creator, since the created is never distinct from its cause. 887 Though you are equally present in all your manifestations, those who profess to know you do not know. You are beyond knowledge and that view is itself defective. Creation does not result from Prakriti, Purusha, or their combination. 888 Like bubbles come into existence through the combination of water and air, living entities are only apparently generated from that combination. All these, with different names and attributes, merge back into you, the supreme. This is like rivers merging into the ocean, or juices 889 merging into honey. Among men who are whirled around in your maya, there are some who are wise and greatly devoted to you and render service to you, the potent one who delivers from samsara. How can those who follow you suffer from fear of samsara? The three rims 890 are caused by the furrowing of your eyebrows and lead to fear among those who do not seek shelter with you. Even those who conquer their senses and their breath of life cannot control the mind, which is like an unrestrained horse. O one without birth! In this world, they attempt to regulate it through unsteady means that only lead to hardships. They abandon the preceptor’s feet and are beset by hundreds of difficulties. They are like merchants, who have not engaged a helmsman, on the ocean. For those men who seek refuge with you, you are the atman, the embodiment of all pleasures. What use do they have for own relatives, sons, bodies, wives, wealth, homes, immobile property, chariots and even life itself? Those who do not know this truth are engaged in the pursuit of sexual pleasure. What happiness can this world give? Its nature is such that it is destroyed. It has no more than transient substance. There are rishis who are devoid of pride. They bear your lotus feet and the water that washed your feet in their hearts. They visit sacred places and tirthas on earth. They find eternal bliss in the atman. If a man turns his mind towards you, he no longer serves anything connected with the home, since those only rob him of his qualities. Since this universe arose from the real, it must be real. This logic is subject to refutation. In some ordinary cases, this is not true. 891 In other cases, perceptions about both can be illusory. 892A traditional succession of blind people desire to establish the imaginary as permanent reality. They are bewildered by numerous words and are dulled by repeated mentions of rituals. This universe did not exist before its creation. Nor will it exist after its destruction. Hence, it is false. But it can be deduced that in the interim, it appears within the absolute you as your manifestation. Therefore, it can be compared to the various kinds of transformations that material objects undergo. It is a figment of the mind and is not real. Those who take it to be real are ignorant. Under the influence of material energy, the jivatman lies down next to maya and embraces her qualities. It serves those assumed forms and, deprived of its prosperity, follows the cycle of birth and death. But just as a snake casts aside its skin, you cast aside material energy. You are immeasurable in your greatness and glory. You possess the eight potencies 893 and opulence. If those who have renounced do not exterminate the roots of desire from their hearts, though you exist in their hearts, they find it impossible to obtain you. You remain like a jewel around the throat, forgotten
by the wearer. O illustrious one! Those yogis who gratify their senses find miseries both in this world and in the next. Death does not let them go and they do not obtain you. Because of you, a person who obtains you does not know the auspicious or the inauspicious, the consequences of good deeds or wicked ones. O one with the qualities! Nor is such an embodied entity aware of the words recommended every day, for every yuga. 894 He hears about you, chanted from one generation to another generation. Through this, men obtain the goal of emancipation. Since you are infinite, the lords of heaven have not been able to reach you. Since you are infinite, nor have you yourself done that. You are indeed inside innumerable cosmic eggs, along with their sheaths. The wheel of time whirls them around inside you, like particles of dust in the sky. The shrutis find their ultimate fruit in you. But their conclusion is indirect, negating every assertion about you.”