Canto 2 - Chapter 8: King Parikṣit asks various questions of the sage Śuka ...

Sanskrit (संस्कृतम्) English Translation

॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥

॥ अष्टमोऽध्यायः - ८ ॥

Discourse VIII

King Parikṣit asks various questions of the sage Śuka

(Preamble)

राजोवाच ।

ब्रह्मणा चोदितो ब्रह्मन् गुणाख्यानेऽगुणस्य च ।
यस्मै यस्मै यथा प्राह नारदो देवदर्शनः ॥ १॥
एतद्वेदितुमिच्छामि तत्त्वं वेदविदां वर ।
हरेरद्भुतवीर्यस्य कथा लोकसुमङ्गलाः ॥ २॥
कथयस्व महाभाग यथाहमखिलात्मनि ।
कृष्णे निवेश्य निःसङ्गं मनस्त्यक्ष्ये कलेवरम् ॥ ३॥
श‍ृण्वतः श्रद्धया नित्यं गृणतश्च स्वचेष्टितम् ।
कालेन नातिदीर्घेण भगवान् विशते हृदि ॥ ४॥
प्रविष्टः कर्णरन्ध्रेण स्वानां भावसरोरुहम् ।
धुनोति शमलं कृष्णः सलिलस्य यथा शरत् ॥ ५॥
धौतात्मा पुरुषः कृष्णपादमूलं न मुञ्चति ।
मुक्तसर्वपरिक्लेशः पान्थः स्वशरणं यथा ॥ ६॥

The king said : Nārada is wont to reveal the form of the Lord (to those who are ripe for His sight), O holy sage. Therefore, when Brahmā (the Creator) urged him to describe (at length) the virtues of the Lord who transcends the three Guṇas (modes of Prakṛti), to what particular individuals did he discourse about those virtues and in what manner ? (1) I am curious to know this in reality (from you), who are foremost among the knowers of the Vedas; for the stories of Śrī Hari, who possesses marvellous powers, are a source of the highest blessing to the world. (2) Tell me, highly blessed sage, how am I to fix my mind which is free from all attachment, on Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Soul of the universe, before casting off this body ? (3) The Lord enters before long the heart of the man who daily listens with reverence to His stories and also narrates His doings. (4) Reaching the lotus of His devotees, heart through the cavity of their ears, Śrī Kṛṣṇa rids it of all impurities even as autumn turns the water (of rivers etc.) clear. (5) He whose heart is thus purified is rid of all afflictions (of mundane life) and would never abandon the soles of His feet, just as a traveller (who has returned home) after a long and tedious journey would not leave his own roof.

(1-6)

यदधातुमतो ब्रह्मन् देहारम्भोऽस्य धातुभिः ।
यदृच्छया हेतुना वा भवन्तो जानते यथा ॥ ७॥
आसीद्यदुदरात्पद्मं लोकसंस्थानलक्षणम् ।
यावानयं वै पुरुष इयत्तावयवैः पृथक् ।
तावानसाविति प्रोक्तः संस्थावयववानिव ॥ ८॥
अजः सृजति भूतानि भूतात्मा यदनुग्रहात् ।
ददृशे येन तद्रूपं नाभिपद्मसमुद्भवः ॥ ९॥
स चापि यत्र पुरुषो विश्वस्थित्युद्भवाप्ययः ।
मुक्त्वाऽऽत्ममायां मायेशः शेते सर्वगुहाशयः ॥ १०॥
पुरुषावयवैर्लोकाः सपालाः पूर्वकल्पिताः ।
लोकैरमुष्यावयवाः सपालैरिति शुश्रुम ॥ ११॥

The soul, O divine sage, has no connection with the elements (matter); yet it takes a body which is made up of these very elements. You know in reality whether this happens as a matter of course or due to some causes (Karma etc.). (7) The Lord, from whose abdomen (navel) sprang up the lotus representing the fourteen worlds, has been spoken of as distinctly endowed with the same limbs and the same number of limbs as an ordinary human being, the measurements alone being His own. Hence He is just like a common man. (In what way, then, does He differ from man ?) (8) It is by His grace that Brahmā, who represents all beings, creates them: and it is by His grace alone, that he was able to behold His divine form, though born of the lotus sprung from His navel. (9) Where does that Supreme Person, who is the Lord of Māyā and the Indweller of all hearts, and from whom proceed the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe, rest after throwing off (the veil of) His Māyā? (10) We have heard from yourself that the various worlds together with their guardian deities were formerly conceived in the limbs of the Supreme Person, and then again they were conceived as His limbs.

(7-11)

यावान् कल्पो विकल्पो वा यथा कालोऽनुमीयते ।
भूतभव्यभवच्छब्द आयुर्मानं च यत्सतः ॥ १२॥
कालस्यानुगतिर्या तु लक्ष्यतेऽण्वी बृहत्यपि ।
यावत्यः कर्मगतयो यादृशीर्द्विजसत्तम ॥ १३॥
यस्मिन् कर्मसमावायो यथा येनोपगृह्यते ।
गुणानां गुणिनां चैव परिणाममभीप्सताम् ॥ १४॥
भूपातालककुब्व्योम ग्रहनक्षत्रभूभृताम् ।
सरित्समुद्रद्वीपानां सम्भवश्चैतदोकसाम् ॥ १५॥
प्रमाणमण्डकोशस्य बाह्याभ्यन्तरभेदतः ।
महतां चानुचरितं वर्णाश्रमविनिश्चयः ॥ १६॥
युगानि युगमानं च धर्मो यश्च युगे युगे ।
अवतारानुचरितं यदाश्चर्यतमं हरेः ॥ १७॥
नृणां साधारणो धर्मः सविशेषश्च यादृशः ।
श्रेणीनां राजर्षीणां च धर्मः कृच्छ्रेषु जीवताम् ॥ १८॥
तत्त्वानां परिसङ्ख्यानं लक्षणं हेतुलक्षणम् ।
पुरुषाराधनविधिर्योगस्याध्यात्मिकस्य च ॥ १९॥
योगेश्वरैश्वर्यगतिर्लिङ्गभङ्गस्तु योगिनाम् ।
वेदोपवेदधर्माणामितिहासपुराणयोः ॥ २०॥
सम्प्लवः सर्वभूतानां विक्रमः प्रतिसङ्क्रमः ।
इष्टापूर्तस्य काम्यानां त्रिवर्गस्य च यो विधिः ॥ २१॥
यश्चानुशायिनां सर्गः पाखण्डस्य च सम्भवः ।
आत्मनो बन्धमोक्षौ च व्यवस्थानं स्वरूपतः ॥ २२॥
यथाऽऽत्मतन्त्रो भगवान् विक्रीडत्यात्ममायया ।
विसृज्य वा यथा मायामुदास्ते साक्षिवद्विभुः ॥ २३॥
सर्वमेतच्च भगवन् पृच्छते मेऽनुपूर्वशः ।
तत्त्वतोऽर्हस्युदाहर्तुं प्रपन्नाय महामुने ॥ २४॥
अत्र प्रमाणं हि भवान् परमेष्ठी यथाऽऽत्मभूः ।
परे चेहानुतिष्ठन्ति पूर्वेषां पूर्वजैः कृतम् ॥ २५॥
न मेऽसवः परायन्ति ब्रह्मन्ननशनादमी ।
पिबतोऽच्युतपीयूषमन्यत्र कुपिताद्द्विजात् ॥ २६॥

What is the length of a Mahākalpa and smaller Kalpas (Vikalpas) ? How is (the passage of) time which is referred to by the words 'past', 'future' and 'present' to be known ? And what is the allotted span of life of creatures that have identified themselves with their physical body? (12) Again, how can the subtle and long movements of time be perceived ? And how many destinies are there to be reached through Karma (action) and what is their character, O noblest sage ? (13) Of the Jivas (embodied souls) who seek the fruit of the three Guṇas (in the shape of birth in the higher or lower species of life) what type of Jivas resort to what kind of action in what manner and for what kind of fruit ? (14) How do the earth and Pātāla (the nethermost sphere), the four quarters and the sky, the planets and the stars, the mountains and rivers, seas and islands and the creatures inhabiting these come into existence ? (15) What are the dimensions of the egg-shaped universe, within and without ? Pray, tell me also the stories of exalted souls and the distinctive character of the different Varṇas (grades of society) and Āśramas (stages of life). (16) Kindly also let me know the characteristics of the various Yugas, the duration of each and the course of duties prescribed for each, on the one hand, and the most wonderful stories of Śrī Hari's descent (in the world of matter) on the other. (17) What are the common duties enjoined on men (in general) and what are their special duties ? Again, what are the duties peculiar to men following the different trades ? Further let me know the duties of royal sages as well as of men living in adverse circumstances. (18) Kindly also tell me the number of the various categories (ultimate principles), their distinctive character as also their characteristic causality in respect of certain other categories, the method of worshipping the Supreme Person as well as of the Yoga taught by the sage Patañjali (what is known as the Aṣṭāṅgayoga or Yoga with its eight limbs). (19) Again, what are the powers acquired by masters of Yoga and what is their destiny? And how does the Līṅga Śarīra (subtle body) of the Yogis dissolve ? Again, what is the distinctive character and the theme of the Vedas and the subsidiary Vedas (such as Āyurveda or the science of medicine) as well as of the Dharma-Śāstra (the books on law), the Itihāsas (epics) and Purāṇas ? (20) How do the creation, preservation and dissolution of all beings take place ? And what is the process of performing Vedic rites and works recommended by the Smṛti texts (such as the digging of big and small wells and tanks, construction of temples to gods and gardens etc., and bestowing food*) as well as acts which are prompted by some selfish desire ? Again, what is the unobjectionable method of pursuing the three objects of human aspiration (viz., Artha or worldly possessions, Dharma or religious merit and Kāma or sensuous enjoyment)? (21) How are the Jivas whose individuality has been merged in Prakṛti (Primordial Matter) during a Mahāpralaya (the dissolution of the universe that takes place at the end of a Brahmā's life) invested with a body again ? And how does a heretical doctrine make its appearance? What is meant by the bondage and emancipation of a soul and, again, what is meant by the soul realizing its true character ? (22) How does the Lord, who is absolutely independent and all-pervading, sport with His own Māyā and how after throwing off (the veil of) His Māyā does He stand unconcerned as a witness? (23) O great and divine sage, pray, tell me all this in reality one after another, since I have approached you with the above questions and have sought refuge in you. (24) You are an authority on these subjects just like the self-born Brahmā (the highest god). Others, however, (blindly) follow only what has been done by the ancestors of those who have gone before them. (25) Rest assured, O divine sage, that this life of mine is not going to depart but for (the curse of) the enraged Brāhmaṇa, even though I am abstaining from all food, drinking as I am the nectar (dripping from your mouth) in the form of the stories of Lord Acyuta.

(12-26)

सूत उवाच ।

स उपामन्त्रितो राज्ञा कथायामिति सत्पतेः ।
ब्रह्मरातो भृशं प्रीतो विष्णुरातेन संसदि ॥ २७॥
प्राह भागवतं नाम पुराणं ब्रह्मसम्मितम् ।
ब्रह्मणे भगवत्प्रोक्तं ब्रह्मकल्प उपागते ॥ २८॥
यद्यत्परीक्षिदृषभः पाण्डूनामनुपृच्छति ।
आनुपूर्व्येण तत्सर्वमाख्यातुमुपचक्रमे ॥ २९॥
इति श्रीमद्भागवते महापुराणे पारमहंस्यां
संहितायां द्वितीयस्कन्धे प्रश्नविधिर्नामाष्टमोऽध्यायः ॥ २.८॥

Sūta continued : Thus invited by king Parikṣit, who had been rescued in his mother's womb by Lord Viṣṇu (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) Himself, to narrate the stories of the noble Lord in the midst of that assembly (of sages), the sage Śūka was highly pleased. (27) He expounded the same Bhāgavata-Purāṇa which had been taught by the Lord Himself to Brahmā (the Creator) at the beginning of the Brahmakalpa (the very first Kalpa of the present round of creation), and which is held in the same esteem as the Vedas. (28) He proceeded to answer seriatim all the questions that had been asked by Parikṣit, the foremost of the scions of Pāṇḍu. (29)
Thus ends the eighth discourse entitled "A Statement of Questions" in Book Two of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahārṣa-Sarhītā.

(27-29)