Canto 3 - Chapter 21: The sage Kardama practises austere penance and the Lord confers a boon on him ...

Discourse XXI

The sage Kardama practises austere penance and the Lord confers a boon on him

Vidura said : The line of Swāyambhuva Manu was the one most esteemed (by all). Pray, give me, O worshipful sage, an account of that race, the progeny of which multiplied through sexual union. (1)
(You have already told us that) the two sons of Swāyambhuva, Priyavrata and Uttānapāda, piously ruled over the entire globe with its seven divisions (Dwīpas as they are called). (2)
His daughter, known by the name of Devahūti, O holy Brāhmaṇa, has been spoken of by you as the spouse of the sage Kardama, a lord of created beings, O sinless one! (3)
How many issues did that great Yogi beget through that princess, who was endowed with the eight limbs of Yoga (such as the five Yamas and so on)? Pray, tell me all this, keen as I am to hear it. (4)
Similarly, O holy sage, tell me how the worshipful Ruci (another lord of created beings) and Dakṣa, a son of Brahmā (and also a lord of created beings), procreated children after securing as their wife the other two daughters of Swāyambhuva Manu (Ākūti and Prasūti respectively). (5)

Maitreya replied : Commanded by Brahmā in the words "Beget children !" the worshipful Kardama practised penance on the bank of the river Saraswati for a period of ten thousand years. (6)
During that penance the sage Kardama devoutly waited upon Śrī Hari—the Bestower of blessings on those who flee to Him for protection—through various modes of worship accompanied by deep meditation. (7)
Pleased (with his austerities), O Vidura, the lotus-eyed Lord showed Himself to him at the beginning of Satyayuga in a form consisting of His own divine essence, which is ordinarily known only through the divine Word (the Vedas). (8)

Kardama beheld the Lord in His purely divine form, effulgent like the sun, wearing a garland of white lotuses and water-lilies and clad in spotless (yellow) silk, His lotus face fringed with sleek dark locks of curly hair. Adorned with a crown and ear-rings, He held His (characteristic) conch, discus (Sudarśana) and mace (in three of His hands) and a white lily to play with (in His fourth); while His smiling look captivated the heart. Having set His lotus-feet on the shoulders of Garuḍa He stood in the air with a golden streak (symbol of Goddess Lakṣmī) on His breast and the famous Kaustubha gem suspended from His neck. (9—11)
Having realized the ambition (of his life) and full of joy, the sage fell prostrate with his head touching the ground and (rising) began to extol the Lord in the following words with a mind naturally full of love and his palms joined (in prayer). (12)

The sage said : Ah ! the fruit of our eyes has been fully attained today by beholding You, the repository of all goodness, whose sight, O praiseworthy Lord, is coveted even by Yogis established in Yoga (deep meditation) after going through higher and still higher births. (13)
Your lotus-feet are a veritable vessel to take one across the ocean of mundane existence. Only they who have been deprived of their senses by Your Māyā (deluding potency) worship those feet with a view to attaining the trivial and momentary pleasures of sense, that can be had even in hell. You, however, O Lord, bestow on them such pleasures of sense too. (14)
You are a wish-yielding tree, while my heart is impure (tainted by carnality). Therefore, desirous of marrying a girl of like disposition, that may prove a veritable cow of plenty (yield all the three objects of human pursuit) in my married life, I too have likewise sought the shelter of Your feet, which are the source of all blessings. (15)
(Constantly) smitten by desire, this world, O Lord of the universe, is bound (like a beast) by the cord of the word (Veda) uttered by You, the lord of created beings. Following the ways of the world, I too, O Embodiment of unalloyed virtue, bear offerings (in the shape of dutiful obedience) to You, who appear as Time. (16)
Turning their back on worldly-minded men as well as on the (human) beasts (like me) who follow them, Your devotees seek (the protection of) Your feet, that afford shelter like an umbrella (against the sun of metempsychosis), and meet the requirements of the body (in the shape of hunger, thirst and so on) by drinking the inebriating nectar of Your praises uttered before one another. (17)
Your wheel (in the shape of Time), which has three navels (in the shape of three divisions of the year, consisting of four months each) rotates round the axle of the imperishable Brahma; it has thirteen spokes (representing thirteen months, including the additional month intercalated every third year), three hundred and sixty joints (corresponding to the same number of days comprised in a year), six rims (in the shape of the six seasons) and numberless leaves (in the shape of moments) carved on it. Though cutting short the span of life of the entire creation by its revolution, this wheel of tremendous velocity cannot touch the life-span of these (Your devotees). (18)
O Lord, though one (without a second), You assume in Yourself the Yogamāyā (Your wonderful creative energy), which is no other than You, with a view to creating the universe, and with the help of potencies like Sattva etc., (emanating from the said Yogamāyā), bring forth and preserve and will then reabsorb the universe into Yourself, even as the spider spins a
cobweb, maintains it and then swallows it up. (19)
Although (we know) it is not liked by You, O Supreme Lord, that You should provide us (Your devotees) by dint of Your Māyā (deluding potency), with the pleasures of sense, let them come to us for our ultimate good (final beatitude), when You have appeared before us in a form adorned with a splendid wreath of Tulasi (basil) leaves—a form which looks finite through Māyā. (20)

Although by virtue of Your Self-Realization You have ever ignored the consequences of Your activity, You have conducted the affairs of the world by Your own Māyā (sportive will) and shower the desired blessings even on those who adore You with some interested motive. I repeatedly bow to You, whose lotus-feet are worthy of reverence to all. (21)

Maitreya resumed : Sincerely extolled in the aforesaid words, Lord Viṣṇu, (whose navel is distinguished by a lotus and) who shone on the shoulders of Garuḍa, replied in accents sweet as nectar, His eyebrows gracefully moving as He regarded the sage with a smile full of affection. (22)

The Lord said : Having come to know what was in your mind, I have already arranged that for which you have worshipped Me well through discipline of the mind and senses etc. (23)
Worship offered to Me by those who have solely fixed their mind on Me, particularly by people like you, O lord of created beings, can never go in vain. (24)
(You know) Emperor Swāyambhuva Manu (son of Brahmā), who is celebrated for his righteous acts, rules over the earth bounded by the seven oceans, having his seat in Brahmāvarta.* (25)
Accompanied by his spouse, Queen Śatarūpā, that royal sage, who knows the secret of Dharma (right conduct), will come to see you, O holy Brāhmaṇa, the day after tomorrow and will give away his dark-eyed daughter—who has attained the marriageable age, is possessed of a noble character and commendable virtues and is on the look-out for a match—to you, who are (in everyway) worthy of her, O lord of created beings. (26-27)
Being just the type on which you have set your heart all these long years, that princess, O holy sage, will soon be yours and will serve you to your heart's content. (28)
She will bring forth nine daughters out of the seed sown in her by you, and through the daughters sprung from your loins sages (like Marici) will duly beget children. (29)
And, with your heart cleansed by properly carrying out My command and having resigned to Me the fruit of all your acts, you will finally attain to Me. (30)
Showing compassion to living beings (in your married life), you will attain Self-Realization; and, giving assurance of safety to all (as a recluse), you will perceive your own self as well as the universe identified in Me and Myself in you. (31)
Manifesting a part of My divine Being through your wife Devahūti, along with your nine daughters, O great sage, I shall instruct her in the system of philosophy (known by the name of Sāṅkhya) that deals with the ultimate principles or categories (such as Prakṛti, Puruṣa, Īśwara and so on). (32)

• The territorial limits of Brahmāvarta (the modern Kuruṣetra) have been specified as below :—

• The tract lying between the two heavenly rivers, Saraswati and Drṣadvati, and owing its existence to the gods, is called Brahmāvarta.*

Maitreya went on : Having thus spoken to him (the sage Kardama), the Lord, who reveals Himself only when the senses are turned inward, departed (for His own Abode, Vaikuṇṭha) from (his hermitage on the strand of) the lake called Bindusarovara, which was encircled by the river Saraswati. (33)
While the sage stood looking on, the Lord left by the path leading to Vaikuṇṭha—a path which is extolled by all great Siddhas—listening to the hymns forming the basis of the Sāmaveda and uttered by the wings* of Garuḍa (the lord of the feathered kingdom). (34)

Even after the departure of the Lord the worshipful sage Kardama stayed (in his hermitage) on the strand of the Bindusarovara, awaiting the time (predicted by the Lord). (35)
(On this side), Swāyambhuva Manu with his spouse (Śatarūpā) mounted his goldplated chariot and, taking his daughter (Devahūti) along with him and journeying all over the globe, reached the aforementioned hermitage of the sage (Kardama)—who had just completed his vow (of austerity)—on the very day foretold by the Lord, O Vidura. (36-37)
The holy Bindusarovara—which overflowed with the water of the river Saraswati and was resorted to by hosts of eminent sages, and whose water was not only wholesome but also sweet as nectar—was so-called because drops of tears had fallen thereon from the eyes of the Lord, overwhelmed as he was by extreme compassion directed towards the sage, who had sought His protection. (38-39)
The lake was rich in fruits and flowers of all seasons inasmuch as it was surrounded by clusters of sacred trees and creepers affording shelter to holy beasts and birds that uttered various cries, and was adorned with rows of forest trees. (40)
It resounded with the notes of overjoyed birds and was the scene of the humming of intoxicated bees; merry, peacocks proudly danced (in the forest surrounding the lake) and merry cuckoos called one another (by their sweet notes). (41)
The lake was hemmed round by Kadamba, Campaka, Aśoka, Karañja, Bakula, Asana, Kunda, Mandāra, Kuṭaja and young mango trees, and echoed with the pleasing notes of Kāraṇḍavas (a species of duck), Plavas, swans, ospreys, water-fowls, cranes, Cakrawākas and Cakoras. (42-43)
And it was infested with deer, boars, porcupines, Gayals (a species of wild animals closely resembling the cow), elephants, baboons, lions, monkeys, mongooses and musk-deer. (44)

• The Śruti says : 'बृहद्भनरे पक्षी' (Bṛhad and Rathantara, the two metrical divisions of Sāmaveda, form the two wings of Garuḍa). It is mentioned at more than one places in the Bhāgavata itself that the hymns of the Sāmaveda proceed from the wings of Garuḍa whenever he takes a flight.

Entering that most sacred spot with his daughter (Devahūti) and going near the sage, the first monarch (Swāyambhuva Manu) saw him sitting there (in his hermitage), having propitiated the sacred fire (by pouring oblations into it). He shone most brilliant with his body, which, though engaged in austere penance for a long time, was not much emaciated because the Lord had cast His affectionate glance at him and he had also quaffed with his ears the nectar flowing from the moon-like words of the Lord. The sage was of high stature, had eyes big as the petals of a lotus, wore matted locks (on his head), was clad in rags and looked untidy like an unpolished gem. (45—47)
Seeing the monarch come to his hermitage and bowing before him the sage greeted him (with benedictions) and received him with due honour. (48)

When the king had sat down calm and collected after receiving the sage's attentions, the latter, who recalled the instructions of the Lord, spoke to him (as follows), delighting him with his soft accents : (49)
"The tour undertaken by you, O lord, is surely intended to protect the virtuous and kill the wicked, embodying as you do the protecting energy of Śrī Hari. (50)
It is you who assume the forms of the sun-god, the moon-god, the god of fire, Indra (the lord of paradise), the wind-god, Yama (the god of punishment), Dharma (the god of piety) and Varuṇa (the god presiding over the waters), as and when necessary. Hail to you, who are no other than Lord Viṣṇu. (51)
If you do not go about (the world), like the sun, in your bejewelled chariot—that ever leads you to victory—twanging your fierce bow, inspiring terror in the heart of the wicked by (the presence of) your very chariot, taking a huge army (behind you) and shaking the terrestrial globe by the tread of your hosts, all the moral laws governing the various Varṇas (grades of society) and Āśramas (stages in life) and made by the Lord Himself, O king, will be broken that very moment by impious men, which will be a deplorable state of things. (52—54)
Nay, unrighteousness will flourish on account of grasping and unruly men. If you give up all thought of the world, it will fall into the clutches of impious men and perish. (55)
Nevertheless I ask you, O valiant king, the purpose for which you have come here; with a glad heart we shall meet your wishes." (56)

Thus ends the twenty-first discourse in Book Three of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahamsa-Sarhhitā.