The Bhagavata Purana 1

by Bibek Debroy

  Suta said, ‘The illustrious Maitreya was Dvaipayana’s friend. Thus asked by Vidura about transcendental knowledge, he cheerfully spoke about it.

  ‘Maitreya continued, “When his father left for the forest, he wished to do that which would bring his mother pleasure. Therefore, the illustrious Kapila resided in Bindusara. When he was seated comfortably, Devahuti remembered the words that the creator had spoken to her. Therefore, seeking the path that would lead to the truth, she spoke to her own son.

  ‘“Devahuti said, ‘O lord! I am extremely disgusted with the agitation caused by the transient senses. O lord! Because they are pervasive, I am immersed in the darkness of ignorance. It is extremely difficult to reach the other shore of this darkness of ignorance. But you are like my true insight. Through your favours, I have obtained you after many births. You are the original illustrious one. You are indeed the lord of all creatures. The world is blinded by the darkness of ignorance and like the sun, you have arisen like an eye. O god! Therefore, you should dispel my delusion. You have yourself created this sense of misconception about me and mine. You are the refuge and I have sought refuge with you. For your devotees, you are like an axe that severs the tree of samsara. 1095 I wish to know about Prakriti and Purusha. You are best among those who know about true dharma and I am bowing down before you.’”

  ‘Maitreya continued, “He heard his mother’s unadulterated wishes, which increases the desire for emancipation in men. He applauded her intelligence, which had turned towards the atman, the destination sought by the virtuous. With a smile on his beautiful face, he replied.

  ‘“The illustrious one said, ‘In my view, adhyatma yoga is the best for men. This leads to complete detachment from happiness and unhappiness. O unblemished one! In ancient times, I spoke about this yoga to the rishis who wished to hear about it. I will tell you about it, with all its complements. The mind is indeed the bond for an atman that seeks to be free. When attached to the gunas, it is the cause of bondage. When one is attached to the Purusha, there is emancipation. When the mind transcends me, mine, ego and impurities like desire and avarice, it is pure and looks upon pleasure and pain impartially. Then the atman is seen to be the absolute Purusha, beyond Prakriti. It is immutable, self-luminous, minute and indivisible. The person is then full of knowledge and non-attachment and full of devotion. He perceives himself to be indifferent and material existence loses its strength. If yogis want success in attaining the brahman, there is no path as auspicious as that of being immersed in devotion towards the illustrious one who is in all atmans. Wise men know that strong attachment 1096 is what binds the atman down. However, when that attachment is applied to something virtuous, it opens up the door to emancipation. Virtuous people possess virtuous traits as ornaments. They are tolerant, compassionate, friendly towards all creatures and tranquil. They have no enemies. Their hearts are fixed only on me, firm in devotion. For my sake, they abandon all action and abandon their relatives and friends. They seek me as a refuge. They hear and converse about my accounts. Since their minds are on me, they are not tormented by different kinds of torments. O virtuous lady! Those who have given up all kinds of attachment are virtuous. You must seek association with such people. That way, the taint of attachment will be removed from you. In the association with virtuous people, there is conversation about my deeds of valour, pleasing to the ear and the heart. By serving them, faith, love and devotion are progressively developed and these quickly take one along the path to liberation. Through devotion, non-attachment towards the senses is developed in a man. He sees, hears and thinks about my deeds. His mind accepts these and becomes united with yoga. He easily seeks to follow the path of yoga. He does not serve the attributes of Prakriti. Knowledge and non-attachment develop. Through yoga and fixed devotion towards me, in this life, he obtains me, the one who resides in all atmans.’

  ‘“Devahuti asked, ‘What kind of devotion towards you is fit to be practised by me? How can I instantly obtain liberation at your feet? O embodiment of emancipation! You have said that yoga flies like an arrow towards the illustrious one. How many limbs does it have? How does one understand the truth about it? O Hari! Since I am a woman who is limited in intelligence, please explain this to me. Through your favours, I will easily understand what is difficult to understand.’”

  ‘Maitreya continued, “Kapila understood his mother’s intention. Affection was generated in him towards the one he had been born from. Therefore, he explained to her the tattvas 1097 that are spoken of as samkhya and he also told her about the course of bhakti yoga.

  ‘“The illustrious one said, ‘If a person is single-minded and devoted to the illustrious one, this is superior to being successful. The natural tendency is to then offer the presiding deities of the senses of perception and rites prescribed in the sacred texts to him, without any motive. This is the tattva. Just as fire digests what has been eaten, this quickly dissolves the linga sharira. There are those who do not desire to become one with me. They do everything for me and are engaged in serving at my feet. These devotees associate with each other and describe my glorious exploits. O mother! These devotees see my beautiful and divine forms, with smiling faces and red eyes. They desire to speak to these forms, the granters of boons. They see these charming forms, with exalted limbs, the pastimes, the smiles, the pleasant glances and the delightful words. Their minds and their senses are captivated. Though they do not desire it, because of their devotion, they are united with me as a destination. They do not desire the blissful prosperity of the illustrious one or the powers of the lord of maya. Nor do they aspire for the eight kinds of siddhis. However, with me, the supreme one, they enjoy these in my world. O one who is serene in form! There, those who are devoted to me are never destroyed. Weapons and time cannot harm them. I am loved by them like a son, a friend, a preceptor, a well-wisher, a divinity and like their own selves. In this world, if people give up all wealth, animals, houses and everything else and only worship me, whose face is in every direction, with single-minded devotion, I take them away beyond death. When they give up their bodies, I take their atmans beyond this world and the next. There is no one other than me, the illustrious one, the supreme lord and Purusha, the one who is in the atmans of all creatures, who can counter this terrible fear. 1098 It is out of fear from me that the wind blows. It is out of fear from me that the sun heats. It is out of fear from me that Indra showers, Agni burns and death roams around. Using bhakti yoga, united with knowledge and non-attachment, yogis obtain welfare at my feet and enter there, without any fear. In this world, this is the only way for men to obtain welfare. Firm in bhakti yoga, their minds must be firmly fixed on me.’”’

  Chapter 3(26)

  ‘“The illustrious one said, ‘I will now separately tell you about the characteristics of the tattvas. Through knowing these, a man is free from the gunas of Prakriti. I will tell you about the supreme knowledge that men who have realized the atman describe as something that severs the bonds of the heart. Purusha is the atman who is without a beginning and is nirguna. He is distinct from Prakriti and is superior. He manifests himself inside and is self-luminous. It is through him that the universe is maintained. As part of his pastimes and his own will, the lord has accepted this subtle and divine Prakriti, who possesses all the gunas. Creating many kinds of gunas, Prakriti creates subjects who are similar in form. Prakriti shrouds knowledge and on seeing this, everyone in the world is instantly confounded. Prakriti’s act, undertaken through the gunas, is identified as that of Purusha and it is thought that Purusha is the one who performs these acts. The lord is not the doer. His atman is that of an indifferent witness. But he is bound down in this cycle of creation and assumes a state of dependence. Learned ones know that Prakriti is cause, effect and the doer. Purusha is superior to Prakriti, but is seen to be the one who experiences pleasure and pain.’

  ‘“Devahuti said, ‘O Purushottama! Tell me about the characteristics of Purusha and Prakriti. They are the cause behind this creation,
which is both manifest and unmanifest.’

  ‘“The illustrious one replied, ‘The three gunas are unmanifest and eternal. In this form, they are cause and effect and are known as Pradhana. When the undifferentiated becomes differentiated, this is known as Prakriti. 1099 The learned know the brahman as the effects of Pradhana, with an aggregate of twenty-four attributes—five, five and fourteen. 1100 There are five mahabhutas—earth, water, fire, air and space. It is my view that their tanmatras, smell and the others, are also similar in number. There are ten organs of sense and these are said to be ears, skin, eyes, tongue, nose, the organ of speech, hands, feet, organ of generation and the anus as the tenth. Those that are internal are manas, buddhi, ahamkara and chitta. The difference between these four is noticed in the way they function. 1101 These are enumerated as the attributes of the brahman and I have spoken about their arrangement. Time is the twenty-fifth. It is said that the power of Purusha that causes fear is time. This is because the individual atman is confounded by ahamkara, having come into contact with Prakriti. 1102 O Manu’s daughter! The undifferentiated gunas of Prakriti were in equilibrium. However, when the illustrious one caused an agitation, this came to be noticed as time. He is in the form of Purusha inside and is in the form of time on the outside. Using his own maya, the illustrious one controls and is inside all living entities. The supreme Purusha agitates his own womb 1103 and deposits his own seed, driven by the dharma of destiny. She delivered the golden tattva known as Mahat. The seed of the universe was hidden inside it and was immutable. The universe was inside it and manifested itself. Through his own energy, the illustrious one drank up the terrible darkness, the darkness that causes the sleep. 1104 The quality of sattva is pure and tranquil and is the abode of the illustrious one. This is the consciousness made up of Mahat tattva and is known by the name of Vasudeva. The attributes of consciousness are clearness, lack of change and tranquility. It is said to be like water in its natural state, before it assumes characteristics. 1105 Mahat tattva resulted from the illustrious one’s energy and underwent change. This led to the three kinds of ahamkara that have the capacity to perform action. Vaikarika, taijasa and tamasa were created and so were the mind, the senses and the mahabhutas. The manifestation of Purusha with the elements, the senses and the mind is known as Samkarshana. He possesses one thousand heads and is Ananta himself. The characteristics of ahamkara are being the doer, being the instrument and being the effect, or alternatively, serenity, terror and confusion. 1106 The mind resulted from modifications of sattvika or vaikarika ahamkara. This has the traits of thinking and reflection and desire results from these. The learned know this by the name of Aniruddha, the lord of the senses. He is dark blue, like a blue lotus in the autumn. The yogis propitiate him gently. O virtuous lady! The modification of taijasa ahamkara created intelligence. This confers the ability to identify objects and facilitates the senses. The separate characteristics of intelligence are said to be doubt, misapprehension, right perception, memory and sleep. The senses are created from taijasa ahamkara and are classified into organs of perception and organs of action. The breath of life is the power behind organs of action. 1107 Intelligence is the power behind organs of perception. Urged by the illustrious one’s energy, tamasa ahamkara was transformed. This led to the tanmatra known as sound and then to the element of space. The sense of hearing evolved from sound. Wise people know that the characteristics of the tanmatra that results from space, that is, sound, are the capacity to convey meaning, to demonstrate this to the speaker and to be the subtle form of space. The functions and characteristics of space are to provide space for beings, cover them from the inside and from the outside, and to provide support to the actions of the breath of life, the senses and the mind. The tanmatra of space, sound, was transformed by the progress of time. Touch resulted and the wind resulted from this. The skin leads to the perception of touch. Touch is the tanmatra of the wind. The characteristics of touch are softness, hardness, cold and heat. The action of the wind is characterized by movement, accumulation, receiving and conveying particles associated with sound 1108 and providing support to all the senses to perform their actions. Urged by destiny, the wind’s tanmatra, sound, assumes different forms. Fire arose from this and the eye, which perceives different kinds of rupa. 1109 O virtuous lady! The characteristics of the tanmatra known as rupa are to assign dimensions, quality, individuality and position to an object and to impart radiance to fire. The attributes of fire are to illuminate, to cook, to drink, to eat, to destroy cold, to dry and to lead to feelings of hunger and thirst. Urged by destiny, the fire’s tanmatra, rupa, went through transformations. This resulted in the tanmatra known as taste. Water was produced from this and the tongue, which perceives taste. Taste is one. However, when it comes into contact with substances, it assumes different forms like astringent, sweet, bitter, pungent and sour. The characteristics of water are moistening, coagulating, causing satisfaction, sustaining life, refreshing, softening, driving away heat and providing abundance. Urged by destiny, water’s tanmatra, taste, went through transformations. The tanmatra known as smell resulted. The earth was produced from this and the sense of smell, which perceives smell. Smell is one. However, when it comes into contact and mixes with different proportions of substances, it assumes diverse traits like mixed odour, offensive odour, fragrance, mild fragrance, strong fragrance, acidic odour and so on. The characteristics and functions of the earth are forming a perception of the brahman, finding a place for itself, sustaining other objects and to provide for differentiations among creatures in terms of their qualities. The distinctive quality of space is said to be the ear, the organ which perceives sound. The learned know that the distinctive quality of air is the tactile organ, which perceives touch. The distinctive quality of fire is said to be the eye. The learned know that the distinctive quality of water is the perception of taste. The distinctive quality of the earth is said to be the organ of smell. The cause is seen to exist in the effect. Thus, the traits of the former exist in the latter. Hence, all the traits are seen to be found in the earth. When the seven, Mahat and the others, 1110 were separate, the origin of the universe entered them, along with time, action and the gunas. They came together and were activated in this way and an egg that was without intelligence was created. Virat Purusha arose from this. This egg is known as Vishesha and is surrounded by layers, water and the others, each progressive layer ten times larger than the preceding one. On the outside, they are covered by Pradhana. This extensive world is the illustrious Hari’s form. He arose from the golden egg that was lying down in the water. The great god entered this space and divided it into many parts. The mouth emerged first and speech was generated from the mouth. Along with speech, Agni and the nostrils were created and prana and the sense of smell. Vayu emerged from the sense of smell and the two eyes and the sense of seeing. Surya evolved from this, the two ears and the sense of hearing. The directions resulted from this. Virat Purusha’s skin appeared and his hair, beard and moustache. The herbs and plants were created from this. The penis was generated thereafter. Semen resulted and water was created from this. The anus appeared and apana was created from the anus. It is because of apana that the world suffers from the fear of death. The hands were created and strength resulted from this. The self-ruling one 1111 was created from this. The feet and locomotion were manifested and Hari issued from this. The blood vessels were formed and the red blood, which resulted in the rivers. The stomach emerged thereafter. Hunger and thirst were formed and the ocean was formed from them. The heart was created and the mind arose from the heart. The moon was born from the mind. Intelligence resulted and the lord of speech 1112 was born from intelligence. Ahamkara and Rudra were created. Consciousness was manifested, along with the divinity who presides over consciousness. Though these different divinities were created, they were incapable of making him 1113 wake up. Therefore, so as to make him arise, they again entered their respective positions in his body. Agni and speech entered the mouth, but Virat did n
ot wake up. Vayu and the sense of smell entered the nostrils, but Virat did not wake up. Aditya 1114 and the sense of seeing entered the eyes, but Virat did not wake up. The directions and the sense of hearing entered the ears, but Virat did not wake up. The herbs and plants and the body hair entered the skin, but Virat did not wake up. Semen and water entered the penis, but Virat did not wake up. Death and apana entered the anus, but Virat did not wake up. Indra and strength entered the hands, but Virat did not wake up. Vishnu and locomotion entered the feet, but Virat did not wake up. The rivers and blood entered the blood vessels, but Virat did not wake up. Hunger, thirst and the ocean entered the stomach, but Virat did not wake up. The moon and the mind entered the heart, but Virat did not wake up. Brahma and intelligence entered the heart, but Virat did not wake up. Rudra and ahamkara entered the heart, but Virat did not wake up. Consciousness and Kshetrajna, the lord of consciousness, then entered the heart. At this, Virat Purusha arose from the waters. When a man is asleep, prana, the senses and the mind have no power to wake him up on the basis of their own powers alone. Therefore, through devotion, non-attachment, knowledge, intelligence and adherence to yoga, one should think about the supreme atman 1115 that is inside one’s own atman.’”’

  Chapter 3(27)

  ‘“The illustrious one said, ‘Though Purusha resides in a body created by Prakriti, he is not touched by Prakriti’s gunas. He is without gunas and without change. He has no attributes of being a doer. He is like the sun, distinct from its reflection in the water. When the gunas of Prakriti are absorbed by the jivatman, he becomes confounded because of the action of ahamkara and takes himself to be the doer. Therefore, he helplessly has to undergo his position in samsara and is not satisfied. Because of being associated with faulty action, he is born as superior, middling and inferior species. 1116 He does not really exist in this material form, but does not withdraw from it. He contemplates material objects, just as one experiences calamities in a dream. Therefore, one must use intense bhakti yoga to gradually withdraw the consciousness from this attachment to the wicked path and bring it under the forces of non-attachment. With faith, one must practise the path of yoga, yama and the other modes. A person’s sentiments must be truly immersed in me and he must chant and hear about me. He must be impartial towards all creatures, without enmity and without being attached. He must follow brahmacharya and be silent, thus strengthening his own dharma. He must be content with whatever is easily obtained. A sage must be moderate in eating. He must seek out a secluded spot. He must be tranquil, friendly and compassionate and realize his atman. He must not get attached to the body and the unreal possessions associated with it. Through knowledge, he will comprehend the truth about Prakriti and Purusha. He must withdraw his intelligence from material existence and keep any other such conceptions far away. Just as one sees the sun with one’s eyes, one will then be able to realize the atman in one’s own self. He will be freed from the linga sharira, which appears to be real, though it is unreal. This is because faulty insight has entered the real, though everything is without duality. The reflection of the sun in the water can be seen in its second reflected image on a wall. But the sun is actually situated in the sky. In this way, a person who has realized the truth can realize the radiance of the real 1117 in its reflections in the three kinds of ahamkara, the elements, the senses and the mind. When one is asleep, the elements, their subtle tanmatras, the senses, the mind are absorbed in the unmanifest. 1118 The one who is awake and without ahamkara is the atman. In that state, a seer may take himself to have been destroyed, but that sense of destruction is false. This is because ahamkara has been destroyed. One feels afflicted, like a person whose wealth has been destroyed. In this way, one comprehends one’s atman, which is the one who makes ahamkara and material objects manifest and is the foundation.’