Canto 3 - Chapter 24: Descent of Lord Kapila ...

Discourse XXIV

Descent of Lord Kapila

Maitreya resumed : When Devahūti (the daughter of Swāyambhuva Manu), who was worthy of all praise, spoke such words, full of dispassion, the merciful sage recalled the words of Lord Viṣṇu and replied (as follows). (1)

The sage said : Worry not about yourself, O princess of irreproachable conduct. The immortal Lord will enter your womb at no distant date. (2)
You have undertaken sacred vows, God bless you. Hence do you adore the Lord with reverence through control of the senses and religious observances as well as through austere penance and charitable gifts of money. (3)
Propitiated by you, Lord Viṣṇu will be born as a son to you, thereby spreading my renown too, and will cut the knot of ignorance (in the form of self-identification with the material sheaths), existing in your heart, by instructing you in the knowledge of the Spirit. (4)

Maitreya went on : Reposing full faith in the message of the sage Kardama (a lord of created beings), out of great regard for him, Devahūti too betook herself to the worship of the immutable Supreme Person as the Preceptor of the world. (5)
After a pretty long time Lord Viṣṇu (the Slayer of the demon Madhu) manifested Himself first through the generative fluid of Kardama and then through Devahūti, even as fire appears through firewood. (6)
At the time of His descent on earth gods in the form of raining clouds sounded musical instruments (in the shape of thunder-claps) in the sky; the Gandharvas (celestial musicians) sang praises to Him; while Apsarās (celestial nymphs) danced through joy. (7)
Heavenly flowers rained by the gods flying in the air dropped (from the heavens); and all the quarters as well as the waters (of lakes, rivers etc.) and the minds of the people too became clear. (8)
Brahmā (the self-born) went along with Marīci and the other sages to that (celebrated) hermitage of Kardama surrounded by the river Saraswati. (9)
Brahmā, who is naturally possessed of true wisdom, already knew that the Lord, who is no other than the supreme Brahma, had descended through pure Sattva for imparting the knowledge of the Sāṅkhya system of philosophy (which determines the nature of the fundamental principles), O vanquisher of foes. (10)
Welcoming with a guileless mind the intention of the Lord, the creator spoke thus to Kardama and Devahūti with all his senses greatly delighted. (11)

Brahmā said : You have truly worshipped me, dear son, in that you reverently carried out my behest, O respecter (of elders)! (12)
This is the service that ought to be rendered by the sons to their father, viz., that they should bow to the command of their father with due deference, saying "Very well !" (13)
These slender-waisted daughters of yours, my worthy child, will multiply this creation manifold through their descendants. (14)
Therefore, give away your daughters this very day to the foremost of the sages with due regard to the girls' temperament and liking, and thereby spread your fame all over the globe. (15)
I know the most ancient Person, the bestower of all boons on living beings, has descended through His own Māyā (wonderful creative energy) in the person of Kapila, O Kardama. (16)
(Turning to Devahūti, he said,) with golden hair, lotus-like eyes and lotus-feet, whose soles bear the mark of a lotus, it is Lord Viṣṇu (the Slayer of the demon Kaitabha) who has been born of you, O Devahūti (daughter of Swāyambhuva Manu), to tear up the roots of Karma (in the form of latent desires) through the instrumentality of Śāstrīya knowledge and realization. Having cut the knot of ignorance and misapprehension, He will roam about the earth. (17-18)
He will be the Lord of the Siddhas, held in great esteem by the teachers of the Sāṅkhya system of philosophy. He will be known all over the world by the name of Kapila and will spread your fame. (19)

Maitreya continued : Having thus reassured the couple, Brahmā, the creator of the universe, rode on his mount, the swan, and returned to Satyaloka (the highest of the spheres stretching beyond the three worlds) along with Sanaka and his three brothers and accompanied by Nārada (who are all lifelong celibates, leaving behind the other sages, Marīci and the rest, so as to enable them to espouse the hand of Kardama's nine daughters). (20)
After the departure of Brahmā, O Vidura, the sage Kardama immediately gave away his daughters to the lords of created beings (Marīci and others), as directed by the creator, according to the injunctions of the Śāstras. (21)
He gave (the hand of) Kalā to Marīci and Anasūyā to Atri; Śraddhā he gave away to Aṅgirā, and Havirbhū to Pulastya. (22)
He further gave Gati, who was worthy of Pulaha, to the latter and the virtuous Kriyā to Kratu, Khyāti to Bhrgu and even so Arundhati to Vasiṣṭha. (23)
And to Atharvā he gave (the hand of) Śānti, through whom a sacrifice is successfully accomplished. When they were duly married, Kardama propitiated these foremost sages as well as their wives (with kind attentions). (24)
Being thus married, the sages thereupon took leave of Kardama and departed, full of joy, each for his own hermitage. (25)

Having come to know that it was Lord Viṣṇu Himself (who is possessed of three pairs of divine attributes, viz., power and affluence, piety and renown, wisdom and dispassion, in their entirety), the foremost of the gods, who had been born (as a son to him), the sage approached Him when He was all alone, and, bowing to Him, said: (26)
"Alas! on those who are burning in this hell of transmigration as a result of their own evil deeds, the gods shower their grace after a long time. (27)
Contrary to this, the Lord whose truth striving souls seek to realize in lonely places through concentrated practice of Devotion matured through many lives, and who promotes the cause of His devotees, has this time appeared in the house of sensual men like us, not minding the ignominy incident to such a birth. (28-29)
Intent on enhancing the dignity of His devotees, You have been born into my house just to redeem Your pledge and to found the Sāṅkhya system (which leads to true Knowledge). (30)
O Lord, Your transcendent forms alone are worthy of You; even so the human semblances that appeal to Your own devotees are as well liked by You, even though You are devoid of a material form. (31)
I take refuge in You, whose footstool is always fit to be saluted by sages keen to know the Truth, and who are perfect in power and energy, wisdom and dispassion, fame and affluence. (32)
I take refuge in Kapila, the supreme Lord, who has all the potencies at His beck and call, who appears as Primordial Matter, the Spirit, the Mahat-tattva or the principle of cosmic intelligence, the Time-Spirit, the threefold (Sāṭtvika, Rājasika and Tāmasika) Ego and the various spheres as well as their guardians, and then reabsorbs all these phenomena into Himself by virtue of His energy in the form of Consciousness and who is the all-witnessing Seer. (33)
Acquitted of the debt I owed to my father (Brahmā, who had commanded me to marry and beget children), and having gained all my desires through You, I now take leave of You, the Lord of all created beings. Treading the path of recluses, I would roam (at will), free from sorrow, contemplating on You in my heart." (34)

The Lord replied : Whatever I say is an authority to the world in matters secular as well as sacred. Therefore, it is only to redeem what I said to you (vide verse 32 of Discourse XXI, above) that I have been born as your son, O sage. (35)
My present birth in this world is meant only for expounding the true nature of the categories so helpful in Self-Realization to those seeking release from their subtle body. (36)
This mysterious path of Self-Knowledge had been obscured through long ages. Know that this personality has been assumed by Me in order to revive that path. (37)
Allowed by Me, go wherever you like and, conquering death, which is exceedingly difficult to conquer, through actions dedicated to Me, adore Me with a view to attaining immortality. (38)
Beholding Me—the supreme self-effulgent Spirit dwelling in the heart of all beings—in your own heart through your intellect, you will be freed from all sorrow and attain the fearless state (viz., final beatitude). (39)
To My mother (Devahūti) as well I shall impart that spiritual Knowledge, which frees one from the bondage of all actions and by virtue of which she will get over the fear of transmigration and attain supreme joy. (40)

Maitreya resumed : Thus addressed by the celebrated Kapila, Kardama (a lord of created beings) went round the Lord (as a mark of respect) and straightaway withdrew to the forest, full of joy. (41)

Observing a vow of non-violence, practised by hermits, and exclusively depending on Śrī Hari (the Supreme Spirit), the sage renounced the sacrificial fire as well as a permanent dwelling and roamed about the globe, free from attachment. (42)
He fixed his mind on Brahma (the Infinite), who is beyond both cause and effect, who, though devoid of the three Guṇas (modes of Prakṛti), yet brings them to light, and who had been realized through exclusive Devotion. (43)
Free from egotism and the sense of mineness, indifferent to pairs of opposites (such as heat and cold, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, etc., etc.), and viewing all with the same eye, Kardama perceived his own self everywhere. His mind had turned inward and was perfectly composed, and the self-possessed sage looked like an ocean without waves. (44)
His mind being fixed through supreme Devotion on the all-knowing Lord Vāsudeva, the Self (Inner Controller) of all embodied souls, he was now free from the bondage of ignorance. (45)
He perceived the Lord, his own Self, as present in all living beings, and all living beings in the Lord, His own Self. (46)
In this way Kardama, who had no desire and was free from malice, who was even-minded towards all, and who had developed Devotion to the Lord, attained union with Him. (47)

Thus ends the twenty-fourth discourse, forming part of the "Story of Lord Kapila" in Book Three of the great and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, otherwise known as the Paramahārṣa-Sarhhitā.