॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
॥ तृतीयोऽध्यायः ॥
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Discourse III
The Lord's Avatāras or Descents into the world of matter (Preamble)
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सूत उवाच ।
जगृहे पौरुषं रूपं भगवान् महदादिभिः ।
सम्भूतं षोडशकलमादौ लोकसिसृक्षया ॥ १॥
यस्याम्भसि शयानस्य योगनिद्रां वितन्वतः ।
नाभिह्रदाम्बुजादासीद्ब्रह्मा विश्वसृजां पतिः ॥ २॥
यस्यावयवसंस्थानैः कल्पितो लोकविस्तरः ।
तद्वै भगवतो रूपं विशुद्धं सत्त्वमूर्जितम् ॥ ३॥
पश्यन्त्यदो रूपमदभ्रचक्षुषा सहस्रपादोरुभुजाननाद्भुतम् ।
सहस्रमूर्धश्रवणाक्षिनासिकं सहस्रमौल्यम्बरकुण्डलोल्लसत् ॥ ४॥
एतन्नानावताराणां निधानं बीजमव्ययम् ।
यस्यांशांशेन सृज्यन्ते देवतिर्यङ्नरादयः ॥ ५॥
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Sūta says: In the beginning (of creation), with the desire of evolving the different worlds, the Lord assumed the form of Puruṣa (the Primal Person) consisting of sixteen component principles (viz., the ten sense-organs, the five elements and mind) and constituted of Mahat (the cosmic intellect) etc. (1)
While He (the aforesaid Puruṣa) was displaying His sleep of Samādhi (absorption into or communion with the Self) reposing on the causal waters, there appeared from the lake of His navel a lotus wherefrom sprang up Brahmā, the lord of progenitors of the world. (2)
It is on the disposition of His limbs that the various worlds stand superimposed; that is the most exalted form of the Lord, consisting of pure Sattva or goodness. (3)
The Yogis behold that form by means of their divine eye, wonderful as it is with its thousands of feet, thighs, arms and faces; it has thousands of heads, ears, eyes and noses and is resplendent with thousands of diadems, robes and ear-rings. (4)
This form of the Lord (popularly known by the name of Nārāyaṇa) is the imperishable seed of the various Avatāras and the abode to which they all return (after accomplishing their purpose). It is by a ray (e.g., Marīci) of His ray (Brahmā) that gods, human beings and the lower forms of life are created. (5) (1-5)
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स एव प्रथमं देवः कौमारं सर्गमाश्रितः । (सर्गमास्थितः)
चचार दुश्चरं ब्रह्मा ब्रह्मचर्यमखण्डितम् ॥ ६॥
द्वितीयं तु भवायास्य रसातलगतां महीम् ।
उद्धरिष्यन्नुपादत्त यज्ञेशः सौकरं वपुः ॥ ७॥
तृतीयं ऋषिसर्गं च देवर्षित्वमुपेत्य सः ।
तन्त्रं सात्वतमाचष्ट नैष्कर्म्यं कर्मणां यतः ॥ ८॥
तुर्ये धर्मकलासर्गे नरनारायणावृषी ।
भूत्वाऽऽत्मोपशमोपेतमकरोद्दुश्चरं तपः ॥ ९॥
पञ्चमः कपिलो नाम सिद्धेशः कालविप्लुतम् ।
प्रोवाचासुरये साङ्ख्यं तत्त्वग्रामविनिर्णयम् ॥ १०॥
षष्ठमत्रेरपत्यत्वं वृतः प्राप्तोऽनसूयया । (षष्ठे अत्रे)
आन्वीक्षिकीमलर्काय प्रह्लादादिभ्य ऊचिवान् ॥ ११॥
ततः सप्तम आकूत्यां रुचेर्यज्ञोऽभ्यजायत ।
स यामाद्यैः सुरगणैरपात्स्वायम्भुवान्तरम् ॥ १२॥
अष्टमे मेरुदेव्यां तु नाभेर्जात उरुक्रमः ।
दर्शयन् वर्त्म धीराणां सर्वाश्रमनमस्कृतम् ॥ १३॥
ऋषिभिर्याचितो भेजे नवमं पार्थिवं वपुः ।
दुग्धेमामोषधीर्विप्रास्तेनायं स उशत्तमः ॥ १४॥
रूपं स जगृहे मात्स्यं चाक्षुषोदधिसम्प्लवे ।
नाव्यारोप्य महीमय्यामपाद्वैवस्वतं मनुम् ॥ १५॥
सुरासुराणामुदधिं मथ्नतां मन्दराचलम् ।
दध्रे कमठरूपेण पृष्ठ एकादशे विभुः ॥ १६॥
धान्वन्तरं द्वादशमं त्रयोदशममेव च ।
अपाययत्सुरानन्यान् मोहिन्या मोहयन् स्त्रिया ॥ १७॥
चतुर्दशं नारसिंहं बिभ्रद्दैत्येन्द्रमूर्जितम् ।
ददार करजैर्वक्षस्येरकां कटकृद्यथा ॥ १८॥
पञ्चदशं वामनकं कृत्वागादध्वरं बलेः ।
पदत्रयं याचमानः प्रत्यादित्सुस्त्रिविष्टपम् ॥ १९॥
अवतारे षोडशमे पश्यन् ब्रह्मद्रुहो नृपान् ।
त्रिःसप्तकृत्वः कुपितो निःक्षत्रामकरोन्महीम् ॥ २०॥
ततः सप्तदशे जातः सत्यवत्यां पराशरात् ।
चक्रे वेदतरोः शाखा दृष्ट्वा पुंसोऽल्पमेधसः ॥ २१॥
नरदेवत्वमापन्नः सुरकार्यचिकीर्षया ।
समुद्रनिग्रहादीनि चक्रे वीर्याण्यतः परम् ॥ २२॥
एकोनविंशे विंशतिमे वृष्णिषु प्राप्य जन्मनी ।
रामकृष्णाविति भुवो भगवानहरद्भरम् ॥ २३॥
ततः कलौ सम्प्रवृत्ते सम्मोहाय सुरद्विषाम् ।
बुद्धो नाम्नाजनसुतः कीकटेषु भविष्यति ॥ २४॥
अथासौ युगसन्ध्यायां दस्युप्रायेषु राजसु ।
जनिता विष्णुयशसो नाम्ना कल्किर्जगत्पतिः ॥ २५॥
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It was this very Lord (Nārāyaṇa) who, first manifesting Himself as the Kumāras (Sanaka and others), took the form of four Brāhmaṇas and observed the hard vow of perpetual celibacy. (6)
During the second Avatāra (manifestation) the Lord of all sacrifices assumed the form of the divine Boar with a view to lifting the earth that had sunk into the lowest depths of the ocean, in order to proceed with the work of creation. (7)
Appearing in the person of the celestial sage (Nārada) in His third manifestation as a Ṛṣi, He taught the Gospel of the Vaiṣṇavas (the Pāñcarātra), which inculcates the method of doing things in such a way that they may cease to bind us. (8)
During His fourth manifestation, in which He was born of Dharma's better half (Mūrti), He appeared in the dual form of the sages Nara and Nārāyaṇa and practised severe penance with perfect control of the mind and senses. (9)
His fifth manifestation was known by the name of Kapila, the lord of the Siddhas (perfect ones), who taught to the sage Āsuri the Sāṅkhya system of philosophy, that determines the nature of the fundamental principles and had been cast into oblivion through the ravages of time. (10)
During His sixth manifestation He appeared as a son of the sage Atri at the entreaty of Anasūyā (Atri's wife) and taught the Science of the Self to king Alarka, Prahlāda and others. (11)
Thereafter in the seventh manifestation He was born Ākūti, the spouse of Ruci (one of the lords of created beings), as Yajña; assisted by His sons Yama and the other gods He held the office of Indra during the first Manwantara, presided over by Swāyamabhuva Manu. (12)
In the eighth manifestation (as Ṛṣabhadeva) the all-pervading Lord was born of queen Meru Devi, the spouse of king Nābhi, and taught by His own example the mode of life of the Paramahāṅsas (enlightened souls who have transcended all bounds of morality and have no duty to perform), which is adored by men belonging to all the four Āśramas or stages of life. (13)
During His ninth descent, at the solicitation of the seers, He took the form of a king (Pṛthu) and made the earth (in the form of a cow) yield all its products (which she had so far withheld), and hence this particular manifestation of the Lord proved most propitious to the world. (14)
At the end of the Cākṣuṣa Manwantara, when all the three worlds were being deluged by the ocean, He took the form of a fish (during His tenth manifestation) and rescued the future Vaivaswata Manu (the lord of the present Manwantara), picking him up on the earth, which had been transformed into a boat. (15)
During His eleventh manifestation, when the gods and the demons began churning the ocean (with Mount Mandara), the Lord assumed the form of a tortoise and supported Mount Mandara on His back. (16)
In His twelfth descent He took the form of Dhanwantari (and emerged from the ocean with a jar full of nectar); while during His thirteenth manifestation He assumed the form of an enchanting woman and gave the gods the nectar to drink, keeping the others (the demons) spell-bound all the while. (17)
In His fourteenth manifestation He took the form of a man-lion and tore with His claws the bosom of the most powerful demon king (Hiraṇyakaśipu) even as a maker of straw mats would tear a reed. (18)
Assuming the form of a dwarf in His fifteenth descent He visited the sacrificial performance of Bali (the demon king) and asked him for three paces of land with the covert intention of robbing him of (his kingdom of) heaven. (19)
In His sixteenth descent (as Paraśurāma) He found that the kings had become inimical to the Brāhmaṇas; enraged at this He rid the earth of the Kṣatriya race as many as twenty-one times. (20)
Then, in His seventeenth descent (as Vyāsa), He was born of Satyavati through the sage Parāśara and, finding the people of poor intelligence, divided the tree of Veda into many branches. (21)
Then again (in the eighteenth descent) He assumed the form of a ruler of men (Śrī Rāma) with a view to accomplishing the purpose of the gods and performed heroic feats like bridging the ocean and so on. (22)
In the nineteenth and the twentieth the Lord was born among the Vṛṣṇis as Balarāma and Śrī Kṛṣṇa and relieved the earth of its burden. (23)
When Kali sets in, He will be born in Magadha (North Bihar) as Buddha, son of Ajana, with a view to deluding the enemies of gods. (24)
Then again, towards the end of the Kali age, when the kings mostly turn into robbers, the Lord of the universe will take descent from (a Brāhmaṇa named) Viṣṇuyāsā as Lord Kalki. (25) (6-25)
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अवतारा ह्यसङ्ख्येया हरेः सत्त्वनिधेर्द्विजाः ।
यथाविदासिनः कुल्याः सरसः स्युः सहस्रशः ॥ २६॥
ऋषयो मनवो देवा मनुपुत्रा महौजसः ।
कलाः सर्वे हरेरेव सप्रजापतयस्तथा ॥ २७॥
एते चांशकलाः पुंसः कृष्णस्तु भगवान् स्वयम् ।
इन्द्रारिव्याकुलं लोकं मृडयन्ति युगे युगे ॥ २८॥
जन्म गुह्यं भगवतो य एतत्प्रयतो नरः ।
सायं प्रातर्गृणन् भक्त्या दुःखग्रामाद्विमुच्यते ॥ २९॥
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Even as thousands of rivulets flow from a lake that never dries, so there are countless descents of the Lord, who is a storehouse of Sattva (power, wisdom, etc.), O Brāhmaṇas. (26)
The sages and seers, the Manus, the gods, the sons of the Manus, the Prajāpatis (lords of created beings), in fact, all those who possess great power, are rays of Śrī Hari. (27)
All these, however, are either part manifestations or rays of the Supreme Person; while Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Lord Himself. All these Avatāras or manifestations of the Lord appear from age to age and protect the world when it is oppressed by the enemies of Indra. (28)
This story of the Lord's descents is a secret. The man who devoutly recites it every evening and morning with a pious mind is rid of all suffering. (29) (26-29)
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एतद्रूपं भगवतो ह्यरूपस्य चिदात्मनः ।
मायागुणैर्विरचितं महदादिभिरात्मनि ॥ ३०॥
यथा नभसि मेघौघो रेणुर्वा पार्थिवोऽनिले ।
एवं द्रष्टरि दृश्यत्वमारोपितमबुद्धिभिः ॥ ३१॥
अतः परं यदव्यक्तमव्यूढगुणव्यूहितम् ।
अदृष्टाश्रुतवस्तुत्वात्स जीवो यत्पुनर्भवः ॥ ३२॥
यत्रेमे सदसद्रूपे प्रतिषिद्धे स्वसंविदा ।
अविद्ययाऽऽत्मनि कृते इति तद्ब्रह्मदर्शनम् ॥ ३३॥
यद्येषोपरता देवी माया वैशारदी मतिः ।
सम्पन्न एवेति विदुर्महिम्नि स्वे महीयते ॥ ३४॥
एवं जन्मानि कर्माणि ह्यकर्तुरजनस्य च ।
वर्णयन्ति स्म कवयो वेदगुह्यानि हृत्पतेः ॥ ३५॥
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This gross manifestation (in the form of the material universe) of the Lord, who is essentially spiritual and has no material form, has been evolved by the products of His Māyā such as Mahat (the principle of Cosmic Intelligence) and so on, and superimposed on the Lord Himself. (30)
Even as men of poor wits assume the existence of the clouds in ether and of dustiness in the air, (even though the clouds, as a matter of fact, hang in the air while dustiness belongs to the particles of earth,) so the ignorant superimpose the gross phenomenal universe on the Self, who is the seer. (31)
Beyond this material form is a subtle (and unmanifest) form of the Lord, which is constituted of undeveloped Guṇas (Guṇas that have not assumed distinctive shapes) and is neither open to perception nor to hearing. It is this (subtle or astral) body which is termed as the Jīva or soul (because the soul seems to enter it or is identified with it) and goes through repeated births or transmigrations. (32)
It is through nescience that the aforesaid astral and material bodies are superimposed on the Self. When this superimposition is removed through self-knowledge, that very moment takes place the realization of Brahma. (33)
The knowers of Truth are aware that when the Lord's sportful Māyā in the shape of Knowledge withdraws, the Jīva becomes one with Brahma and gets established in the glory of the Self. (34)
In such terms do the wise describe the descents as well as the doings of the Lord, who is the Ruler of all hearts and is really without birth or actions; for His descents and doings are a guarded secret of the Vedas. (35) (30-35)
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स वा इदं विश्वममोघलीलः सृजत्यवत्यत्ति न सज्जतेऽस्मिन् ।
भूतेषु चान्तर्हित आत्मतन्त्रः षाड्वर्गिकं जिघ्रति षड्गुणेशः ॥ ३६॥
न चास्य कश्चिन्निपुणेन धातुरवैति जन्तुः कुमनीष ऊतीः ।
नामानि रूपाणि मनोवचोभिः सन्तन्वतो नटचर्यामिवाज्ञः ॥ ३७॥
स वेद धातुः पदवीं परस्य दुरन्तवीर्यस्य रथाङ्गपाणेः ।
योऽमायया सन्ततयानुवृत्त्या भजेत तत्पादसरोजगन्धम् ॥ ३८॥
अथेह धन्या भगवन्त इत्थं यद्वासुदेवेऽखिललोकनाथे ।
कुर्वन्ति सर्वात्मकमात्मभावं न यत्र भूयः परिवर्त उग्रः ॥ ३९॥
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The pastimes of the Lord are always purposive; by mere sport He creates, preserves and reabsorbs this universe, but never gets attached to it. Abiding unperceived in the heart of all living beings, He seems to enjoy the objects of the mind and the five senses as the ruler of all the six. But being the Master of His Self He remains aloof from these objects (they fail to bind Him). (36)
No stupid creature can know by any dialectical skill the names and forms or doings of the Lord, revealed by His thought or word (the Vedas), any more than an ignorant man can understand the performance of a conjurer, accomplished through his will and speech. (37)
The power of the Lord who wields the discus in His hand is infinite; though the Maker of this world, He remains ever beyond it. He alone can know His ways who inhales the fragrance of His lotus-feet through constant and sincere devotion to them. (38)
Now you blessed ones are lucky indeed, since you in this life and in this world (which is full of impediments and obstacles) thus cultivate that undivided love to Bhagavān Vāsudeva (Śrī Kṛṣṇa), the Lord of the entire universe, by virtue of which one never falls again into the terrible vortex of birth and death. (39) (36-39)
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इदं भागवतं नाम पुराणं ब्रह्मसम्मितम् ।
उत्तमश्लोकचरितं चकार भगवान् ऋषिः ॥ ४०॥
निःश्रेयसाय लोकस्य धन्यं स्वस्त्ययनं महत् ।
तदिदं ग्राहयामास सुतमात्मवतां वरम् ॥ ४१॥
सर्ववेदेतिहासानां सारं सारं समुद्धृतम् ।
स तु संश्रावयामास महाराजं परीक्षितम् ॥ ४२॥
प्रायोपविष्टं गङ्गायां परीतं परमर्षिभिः ।
कृष्णे स्वधामोपगते धर्मज्ञानादिभिः सह ॥ ४३॥
कलौ नष्टदृशामेष पुराणार्कोऽधुनोदितः ।
तत्र कीर्तयतो विप्रा विप्रर्षेर्भूरितेजसः ॥ ४४॥
अहं चाध्यगमं तत्र निविष्टस्तदनुग्रहात् ।
सोऽहं वः श्रावयिष्यामि यथाधीतं यथामति ॥ ४५॥
इति श्रीमद्भागवते महापुराणे पारमहंस्यां संहितायां प्रथमस्कन्धे नैमिषीयोपाख्याने तृतीयोऽध्यायः ॥ १.३॥
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The divine seer, Vedavyāsa, composed this Purāṇa, known by the name of Śrīmad Bhāgavata, which stands on a par with the Vedas and contains the stories of the Lord of excellent renown. (40)
He taught this blessed, benedictory and great Purāṇa, for the highest good of mankind, to his son (Śukadeva), who is the foremost among Self-realized souls. (41)
This represents the very cream extracted from all the Vedas and Itihāsas (epics). Śuka in his turn recited it to the great king Parikṣit, who sat on the bank of the Gaṅgā, surrounded by the foremost sages, with a vow to fast unto death. Now that Śrī Kṛṣṇa has left for His (divine) abode with piety, wisdom and all, this sun-like Purāṇa has made its appearance for the benefit of those who have been blinded (by the darkness of ignorance) in this Kali age. While the glorious sage Śukadeva, O Brāhmaṇas, was reciting this Purāṇa there (on the bank of the Gaṅgā), I too was present and learnt it by his grace. I will now recite the same to you even as I have learnt it, according to the best of my lights. (42—45)
Thus ends the third discourse, forming part of the story relating to the Naimiṣa forest, in Book One of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Sarhhitā. (40-45)
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